Singh

MEMORANDUM *

Manjit Singh (“Singh”), a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) summary affirmance of the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Because we are compelled to find that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence, we REMAND.

This Court reviews a determination that an applicant has not established eligibility for asylum under the “substantial evidence” standard. Kaur v. Ashcroft, 379 F.3d 876, 884 (9th Cir.2004). Singh alleges that his membership in a pro-separatist Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal Mann, led to two separate instances of custodial abuse by Indian police in 1997 and 1999. The IJ found the 1999 abuse not credible because government officials participated in Sikh celebrations organized by non-separatist parties, including the mainstream Akali Dal, during the time of Singh’s arrest. The IJ failed to note that Singh’s separatist party was a separate entity treated differently by the government. This serious confusion compels rejection of his…