CAT/C/32/D/183/2001
Page 4
2.6
The complainant reentered Canada on 4 August 1994 at Vancouver and made
a new refugee claim in Montreal on 16 August 1994. On 13 October 1994, a removal
order was issued against him by the Canadian immigration authorities. He was refused
Convention refugee status by the Convention Refugee Determination Division of the
Immigration and Refugee Board on 4 November 1996, but applied for leave to apply
for judicial review of that decision. Leave was denied by the Federal Court of Canada
on 29 May 1998.
2.7
In the meantime, the complainant filed an application in the PostDetermination Refugee Claimants in Canada (PDRCC) class. Together with that
application he submitted a copy of a document resembling a warrant for arrest which,
according to that document, had been issued against him by the Indian authorities on 8
May 1994. His application was rejected by letter of 10 March 1997 informing him
that the removal order had become effective and that he had to leave Canada before
16 April 1997. The post-claim determination officer’s notes to the file state that the
copy of the arrest warrant had only been provided at a late stage of the proceedings
and that no explanation was given as to why the arrest warrant had been issued in
1994 purportedly for events dating back to 1991. The complainants request for leave
to apply for judicial review of the decision rejecting his application was denied by the
Canadian Federal Court on 29 August 1997.
2.8
On 2 October 1997, the complainant applied for an exemption from the regular
application of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act1 on the basis of
humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The application contained new evidence
including an article, dated 10 August 1997, from a Chandigarh (Punjab) newspaper
stating that the complainant’s family was still being harassed by the Punjab police and
that his life would be at risk if he were returned to India; a medical report, dated 25
April 1995, from an Indian doctor confirming that he had treated the complainant for
a fractured leg and a bleeding ear on 21 September 1991; and a medical report, dated
14 March 1995, from a Montreal doctor certifying a hearing defect on the
complainant’s right ear as well as a 3 cm scar on his right leg and concluding that
these symptoms were concordant with his allegations of torture. The complainant’s
humanitarian and compassionate application was denied on 4 November 1997.
However, during the examination of the complainant’s request for leave to apply for
judicial review of that decision, it became apparent that the immigration officer had
not considered all the evidence before him. The State party agreed to reconsider the
humanitarian and compassionate application, and the court proceedings were
discontinued.
2.9
On 4 June 1998, another immigration officer made a further risk assessment
and, despite new evidence, concluded that the complainant would not be at risk of
torture or inhumane treatment if returned to India. By letter, dated 13 August 1998,
the complainant was advised that his second humanitarian and compassionate
application had also been rejected. He filed an application for leave to apply for
judicial review which was granted by the Federal Court.
2.10 By decision of 2 October 1998, the Federal Court ordered a stay of execution
of the removal order. The Court held that the complainant had raised a serious issue to
1
The Act was amended on 1 November 2001.