The Court of Appeal will not decide whether Everest hero M Moorthy had converted to Islam or was a practicing Hindu at the time of his death.

Instead, it will only decide on whether the application by his widow S Kaliammal who is seeking a conclusive ruling on her husband's religious status should be heard before the civil or syariah court.

Justices Mokhtar Sidin, Denis Ong and Abdul Aziz Mohamad told parties in the appeal filed by Kaliamal that the court will only hear arguments on the issue of jurisdiction and not the merits of the case itself.

"The only question to be determined here is the question of jurisdiction. The merits of the issue is not in the judgment of the High Court. So if we are to agree that the civil court has jurisdiction, we have to send it back to the High Court to have the merits heard," said Mokhtar.

The court also pointed out that most of the prayers sought by Kaliammal are academic.

"Some of the prayers are now a matter of redundancy like claiming of the body ... I don't know what your intention is but I think that is going into the merits of the case. The issue here is only of jurisdiction."

Important case

Recognising the importance of the case, Mokhtar advised all parties to submit extensive written arguments on the issue so that the court will not "miss any points".

"I know that this is a very important issue and we need to clear this up for the future. We need to be careful in our judgment and that's why we have invited parties to give their written submission for us to deliberate," said the judge.

The court also reminded parties that the issue of Article 121 (1)(A) of the Federal Constitution - which discussed the jurisdiction of civil and syariah courts - must be included in their arguments.

Giving parties four weeks to submit their written arguments and subsequent replies, Mokhtar hinted that the court may have a decision by September this year. He then adjourned the matter to another date yet to be fixed.

Kalliammal is appealing against the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Raus Sharif's ruling that it had no jurisdiction to review the Syariah Court decision over her husband's alleged conversion to Islam.

Apart from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council and the Malaysian government, the housewife also named the Kuala Lumpur Hospital director-general as respondent for releasing Moorthy's body to the council for burial under Islamic rites.

We're only human

In today's brief proceeding, Kaliammal's lead counsel M Manoharan told the court that his client was concerned on the outcome of the case.

"As far as she is concerned, her late husband is a Hindu," he said.

Mokhtar: There is nothing we can do. We are only human and we need to deliberate and make a careful decision. It is a very important case for the future generation.

Manoharan: It is important to the appellant too... there is a Hindu body lying in a Muslim cemetery

Ong: What are you driving at?

Manoharan: We just want to stress the urgency of the case.

Met later, Manoharan said the appellant intended to call witnesses in the event the case was reverted to the High Court.

"If the Court of Appeal rules that the civil court has jurisdiction to hear the application, we will call witnesses including those from the religious authorities to prove that Moorthy was a practicing Hindu when he dies," he added.