MZWUL & Anor v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 924

[2005] HCATrans 924

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Melbourne  No M53 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

MZWUL

First Applicant

MZWUM

Second Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GUMMOW J
KIRBY J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2005, AT 2.25 PM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicants are husband and wife and citizens of India who arrived in Australia on 11 July 2003.  The first applicant claims to be entitled to refugee status on account of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of religion.  He is an entertainer by profession and a Sikh by religion.  He claimed to have been threatened by Sikh fundamentalists as he had not shown devotion to his religion by adopting prescribed rituals and conventions.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa.  The applicant had advanced his claims and evidence only in his application for a protection visa and application for review by the Tribunal, and he did not attend a hearing when invited to do so.  The Tribunal found the applicant’s evidence to be “so general and lacking in detail” that it was unable to establish the relevant facts.  It was therefore unable to be satisfied on the material before it that the applicant had a well‑founded fear of persecution should he return to India.

The applicant sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Magistrates Court.  That Court dismissed the application when the applicant failed to appear at the hearing.  An application for an extension of time in which to appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed by Marshall J when the applicant failed to provide any explanation for the delay.  His Honour noted also that an extension of time would be futile as the application was doomed to fail.

We have considered the applicant’s written case and the decisions of the Tribunal, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Federal Court.  There would be no prospect of success in any appeal to this Court from the Federal Court.  Accordingly, special leave to appeal is refused.

Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave.  I publish the disposition signed by Kirby J and myself.

AT 2.26 PM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED