Independence for Punjab

Concerning  Mr. R.S. (represented by Mr. Hans Mogensen) vs Denmark for violation of articles 22 of CAT.

The author is a Sikh who grew up in a district in Punjab, India. His uncle and older brother were members of the Sikh Students Federation and the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). The avowed aim of the KCF is to obtain independence for Punjab. The author’s uncle was killed by the police. The police arrested and detained the author’s brother until he disappeared on an unspecified date. The police then contacted the author and asked for information. When he replied that he did not know his brother’s whereabouts, he was arrested detained and tortured on several occasions. Thus he fled to Denmark and applied for asylum.

The Danish authorities rejected the author’s application for asylum as they considered that the author himself had not been a member of a political organization in India, nor that he had performed any political activity of importance. Thus a complaint was sent to CAT.

The Committee notes that the author has not supported his claim that he was politically active by pertinent evidence, nor has he submitted evidence to explain why the political group he claims to have transmitted messages for were itself targeted by the police. Even if considering that the author has been subjected to torture in the past, the Committee finds no reason to consider that he currently is at a personal risk of being subjected to such treatment by the police if returned to India. Thus, the Committee declared that the complaint is manifestly unfounded and thus inadmissible.

20. July 2021

CAT 225/2003
  • Decision: 24. May 2004
  • Comm: Torture