M Indira Gandhi wants the police to arrest her Muslim convert ex-husband for refusing to comply with a court order deadline to return their daughter to the mother that ended today.

When contacted, her lawyer M Kulasegaran told Malaysiakini that K Pathmanathan @ Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah said he was "not in a position" to return the child today.

Kulasegaran said this was conveyed to him in Ipoh this morning by Pathmanathan's lawyer Anas Fauzi, in the presence of Indira and another of her lawyers, A Sivanesan.

"After this, Indira is going to lodge a police report to have Pathmanathan arrested and put in jail until he purges his contempt," Kulasegaran added.

The High Court in Ipoh last Friday found Pathmanathan in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a 2010 court decision that gave custody of the child to Indira.

The court gave Pathmanathan one week to return the six-year-old girl, failing which, the judge said, police must issue a warrant of arrest against the father for contempt.

Kulasegaran said this order was conveyed by Anas to the father who still refused to return the child.

"We asked Anas if he has advised Pathmanathan to return the child and he said he has because the court order must be followed.

"He met the child's father in Kota Bharu last Saturday. Pathmanathan said the notice was too short and he was under a lot of stress and did not know what to do.

"He told his lawyer he was not in a position to return the child today," the lawyer added.

However, Kulasegaran rubbished the assertion that the notice was "too short", stating that the child should have been returned since 2010.

Kulasegaran also posted on Twitter a photograph he received of Pathmanathan and the girl, which was taken in Kota Bharu last week.