Singh v. Immigration Naturalization & Service
Singh v. Immigration Naturalization & Service
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Harinderjit Singh Nijjar, a Punjabi Sikh, appeals the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying him eligibility for asylum and withholding of deportation. The BIA denied Nijjar’s application because his account was not credible and, even if events had transpired as he claimed, he would be unable to show that he was persecuted “on account of’ a protected ground. We reverse.
The BIA “ ‘must have a legitimate artic-ulable basis to question the petitioner’s credibility, and must offer a specific, cogent reason for any stated disbelief, and any such reasons must be substantial and
The BIA also erred in concluding that Nijjar was not persecuted within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1158. Nijjar’s credible testimony establishes that he was detained and beaten by the Indian police. Contrary to the INS’ assertion, this conduct constitutes “persecution.” See Prasad v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 339 (9th Cir. 1995). Further, the evidence compels the conclusion that Nijjar was persecuted, “at least in part, on account of’ his imputed political opinion. Borja v. INS, 175 F.3d 732, 736 (9th Cir. 1999) (emphasis added); see also Ratnam v. INS, 154 F.3d 990 (9th Cir. 1998); Singh v. Ilchert, 63 F.3d 1501 (9th Cir. 1995). Because Nijjar has demonstrated past persecution, we presume that he is eligible for both asylum and withholding of deportation. See Salazar-Paucar v. INS, 281 F.3d 1069, 1074, amended, by 290 F.3d 964 (9th Cir. 2002); Bandari v. INS, 227 F.3d 1160, 1169 (9th Cir. 2000).
Moreover, nothing in this record will permit the INS to rebut that presumption, and the INS does not present any authority that it would be entitled to supplement the record on remand. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the Attorney General to decide whether he will grant asylum and withholding of deportation.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as may be provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. The BIA did not rely on the IJ's finding that Nijjar was nervous. If it had done so, we would still reverse, because nervousness alone does not call into doubt the veracity of a young man who is testifying before a foreign government official in order to avoid being returned to the country where he suffered persecution.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.