On 14 August 1990 the Home Secretary decided that Karamjit Singh Chahal should be deported to India because his presence in the United Kingdom was “unconducive to the public good for reasons of national security and other reasons of a political nature, namely the international fight against terrorism” (paragraph 25). He said that on a visit to Punjab in 1984 the police had held him for twenty-one days, beaten him to unconsciousness, electrocuted him and subjected him to a mock execution (paragraph 18). The Home Secretary obtained an assurance from the government of India, repeated in December 1995, that he “would enjoy the same legal protection as any other Indian citizen, and that he would have no reason to expect to suffer mistreatment of any kind at the hands of the Indian authorities” (paragraph 37).
The Grand Chamber held that the risk could not be weighed against the danger he was said to pose: “The prohibition provided by Article 3 (art. 3) against ill-treatment is equally absolute in expulsion cases.” … “In these circumstances, the activities of the individual in question, however undesirable or dangerous, cannot be a material consideration. The protection afforded by Article 3 (art. 3) is thus wider than that provided by Articles 32 and 33 of the United Nations 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees” (paragraph 80).
On the assurance: “Although the Court does not doubt the good faith of the Indian Government in providing the assurances mentioned above (paragraph 92), it would appear that, despite the efforts of that Government, the NHRC and the Indian courts to bring about reform, the violation of human rights by certain members of the security forces in Punjab and elsewhere in India is a recalcitrant and enduring problem (see paragraph 104 above). Against this background, the Court is not persuaded that the above assurances would provide Mr Chahal with an adequate guarantee of safety” (paragraph 105). It concluded that “the order for his deportation to India would, if executed, give rise to a violation of Article 3 (art. 3)” (paragraph 107).
The Court also found that “neither the advisory panel nor the courts could review the decision of the Home Secretary to deport Mr Chahal to India with reference solely to the question of risk, leaving aside national security considerations” (paragraph 153), so that he had no effective remedy, and that neither habeas corpus, judicial review nor the advisory panel met the requirements of Article 5 § 4 for the review of his detention (paragraph 132). The detention itself, with a view to deportation, did not breach Article 5 § 1.