5 top judges to hear Shamala case on Monday
Come Monday, five judges from the highest court in Malaysia, will hear an application by a Hindu mother to challenge for the custody of her two underage sons, who became Muslim, after her husband converted them without her consent eight years ago.
Come Monday, five judges from the highest court in Malaysia, will hear an application by a Hindu mother to challenge for the custody of her two underage sons, who became Muslim, after her husband converted them without her consent eight years ago.
The S Shamala vs Dr M Jeyaganesh case, will be heard by the Federal Court on May 3, and is bound to touch on racial and religious sentiments in multiracial Malaysia.
The case and its rulings will be a precedent to other child conversion and custody cases.
Normally, the Federal Court would have three judges hearing a particular case. However, owing to the complexity of this case as it involves constitutional matters, it had decided on a five-member bench.
Such cases have become contentious issues in Muslim-majority Malaysia as they centre on whether a parent has the right to convert their children, without the consent of the other spouse, in a civil marriage.
Other contentious issues which would be argued include whether the civil courts have the jurisdiction to hear cases concerning conversion of non-Muslim children by one parent, and whether the Syariah Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether a conversion of a minor is valid or not.
The country's judicial system has not been under such close scrutiny since the Lina Joy vs the National Registration Department case in 2006.
That Federal Court verdict , stated that Lina, a Christian, also known by Muslim name, Azlina Jelani, had to get the Syariah Court to approve her renouncement of Islam before she could change or remove her religion on her identity card.
The decision in the Lina Joy case was made even though there is no provision under the Federal Territory Syariah Law, for a declaration to be an apostate.
The only state that has laws dealing with apostasy is Negeri Sembilan.
In a related case - R Subashini vs T Saravanan in 2008 where the husband converted to Islam - the wife attempted to have the marriage annulled.
The Federal Court ruled that the power to annul a civil marriage falls within a civil court where the marriage had taken place and not the Syariah Court.
However, it did not resolve Subashini's case when it was found out that she had filed to annul her marriage earlier then the stipulated three months.
The Shamala case comes up almost a year after the appellate court heard her appeal and decided that the apex court had to rule on five constitutional questions.
Landmark decision expected
Justice Abdull Hamid, who has now been elevated to Federal Court is unlikely to hear this appeal as he has heard it in the Appellate Court.
It is hoped the hearing and verdict would help resolve the long-standing issue which has affected many families facing a similar situation.
One of the cases likely to be affected by the outcome of the Shamala case include the M Indira Ghandi case in Ipoh.
Similar to the Shamala case, Indira's husband converted to Islam and also converted their three children.
Indira is seeking the custody of the children and requesting the annulment of the children's conversion.
Long battle over custody
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