Further background
14 The applicant married his wife in 2016. The applicant's wife travelled to Australia, obtaining a student visa. The applicant subsequently arrived in Australia in 2017. He left Australia briefly in mid-2018 before returning and has remained in Australia since that time. Until February 2023, the applicant was a lawful non-citizen, being a secondary applicant to his wife's post-study work visa. Upon that visa expiring, the applicant became an unlawful non-citizen. The applicant then obtained a bridging visa for a period of about three weeks in September 2023 before being taken into immigration detention where he has remained. In November 2023, the applicant applied for a protection visa, which was refused by a delegate in December 2023, and the refusal was affirmed by the Tribunal in April 2024.
15 It is unnecessary to set out a complete summary of the Tribunal's statement of reasons (R), which were clear and detailed. The following are some features of the reasons that are relevant to the arguments presented on this application.
16 The applicant's claims made prior to the Tribunal's hearing were set out at R[9] and [10]. The essence of those claims is that, as a Sikh, if the applicant returned to India, Hindu organisations would hunt him down and kill him.
17 The applicant's claims for protection developed before the Tribunal. From R[42] to [61], the Tribunal set out a range of claims that were made before the Tribunal, not all of which were raised in advance of the hearing. These claims were set out under the general headings of "Sikh religion", "Political activism", "Land dispute", "Drug use in Australia, mental health" and "Relocation". The claims relating to "Sikh religion" and "Political activism" largely mirrored what I have already summarised.
18 At R[47], the Tribunal records that the applicant raised the issue of a "Land dispute" as a new claim at the hearing. Essentially, the claim was that the applicant and his mother had been involved in a dispute over land with his paternal cousins. When asked by the Tribunal why he feared harm from a land dispute, the applicant claimed that he had been sexually abused when he was in year 6 by his cousins: R[49]. The applicant claimed that his cousins had abused him with the intention of ruining his and his mother's reputation in their village. He further claimed that this incident led people in the village to believe that the applicant was homosexual. The applicant then explained that he feared that if he returned to the village, his relatives would bribe the local authorities to put him in gaol, at least in part because his cousin was in control of the village. At R[52], the Tribunal extended the applicant an opportunity to provide further documents and information in support of these claims.
19 At R[53]-[57], the Tribunal dealt with the applicant's claims concerning his mental health. The substance of the applicant's claim was that he had begun to use drugs at least partly because of mental health issues. Another contributing factor was said at R[53] to be an argument between the applicant and his wife, during which the applicant's wife accused the applicant of being gay. The Tribunal's reasons record the applicant's claim that this affected him seriously, and contributed to his drug use. Relevantly for the submissions of the applicant, the Tribunal noted at R[56] that it had encouraged the applicant to speak to a counsellor or health professional at the detention centre where he was being detained.
20 The Tribunal dealt, at R[58]-[61], with the possibility of the applicant relocating within India, so as to avoid any serious harm he may have feared. The Tribunal's reasons essentially state that the applicant was informed that relocation was an issue the Tribunal would consider. In this section of its reasons, the Tribunal reiterated that the applicant was given an opportunity to provide further evidence in support of his claims. In this context, at R[60]-[61], the Tribunal dealt in particular with further information or documents the applicant might provide about his mental health, although at R[61] noted that the applicant did not put on further substantive information on this topic.
21 At R[78], the Tribunal accepted that the applicant had been a victim of sexual abuse and that people in his home village considered the applicant to be gay. The Tribunal accepted that if the applicant were required to return to his home village, he would be forced to confront his abusers and may again be imputed as "gay" by people in the village. The Tribunal referred to country information that indicated that gay people lacked protection, and faced intolerance, abuse, and violence in their daily lives. On balance, the Tribunal considered at R[80] that there was a real chance of persecution of the applicant in his home village on the ground that he was a man perceived to be gay.
22 The Tribunal then turned its attention to whether the applicant's well-founded fear of persecution applied to all areas of India, and to the question of relocation, and whether relocation was reasonable, as required by the definition of refugee in s 5H informed by s 5J(1)(c), and s 36(2B)(a) of the Act. At R[83], the Tribunal stated that there was no evidence to suggest that people outside the applicant's home village would become aware of his sexual assault or impute him as being a gay man. Having regard also to other claims made by the applicant, including the fact that he is a Sikh, the Tribunal at R[85] did not accept that there would be a real chance of persecution should he relocate to a large urban centre in India outside of Punjab. The Tribunal addressed these issues taking account of various possibilities.
23 The Tribunal made a similar finding in relation to the complementary protection criterion, addressing also the impact of the applicant's mental health, his past drug use, and his historical sexual assault on the reasonableness of relocation. The Tribunal specifically noted at R[96] and [98] that neither the applicant nor his wife had claimed or suggested that she would accompany him upon his return to India. The Tribunal stated at R[97] that it had invited the applicant to provide further evidence to the Tribunal in relation to his capacity to move to another city in India, and had encouraged the applicant to speak to a counsellor or health professional at the immigration detention centre about matters discussed at the hearing, stating that it would have regard to this information when considering the impact, if any, of relocation. The applicant did not provide to the Tribunal any submissions specifically directed to relocation: R[98]. The Tribunal stated that the medical records obtained by the Tribunal, being those provided by the applicant before the hearing and those received in response to a summons issued by the Tribunal, contained no information about the sexual assault of the applicant, or an assessment of the potential impact of the applicant's mental health or drug use if he was required to return to India. The Tribunal concluded at R[99] that having regard to country information, the absence of any information to suggest that it would not be reasonable for the applicant to relocate to another city in India, and the applicant's oral evidence that he had resolved not to use drugs again, the Tribunal was satisfied that it would be reasonable for the applicant, and his wife should she choose to accompany him, to relocate to an area outside Punjab, such as a large urban centre in Delhi, and that there would be no real risk of significant harm to him should he do so. The Tribunal did not accept that there was a real risk that the applicant would suffer significant harm in India for reasons relating to his Sikh religion, his actual or imputed political activism, his mental health, his past drug use, his mother's land dispute, his separation from his wife, his past sexual assault, or being imputed as a gay man, and concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion set out in s 36(2)(aa) of the Act.