• Federal Court to
deliver judgement tomorrow in two landmark cases
• Jurisdiction
tussle decision tomorrow
©Malaysiakini
(Used by permission)
by Soon Li Tsin
The fate of whether an Indian Hindu wife can seek justice in
the civil courts - despite her Islam-convert husband initiating divorce proceeding
in the syariah courts - will be known tomorrow.
The Federal Court - the country¡¯s highest court - will announce their
decision three months after lawyers from both sides of the controversial case
made their final arguments.
The three-member panel comprising justices Nik Hashim Nik Ab
Rahman, Abdul Aziz Mohamad and Azmel Ma'amor will decide whether the civil or
syariah court is more authoritative on the issue of divorce when one spouse
converts to Islam - an issue that has been a long-standing moot point in the
trial.
Subashini, 28, is trying to stop her 31-year-old husband, T Saravanan - a
Hindu who has converted to Islam and assumed the name Muhammad Shafi
Saravanan Abdullah - from taking their divorce and custody proceedings to the
Syariah Court.
Saravanan converted in May 2006 along with their eldest son, Dharvin Joshua,
4. The husband then launched proceedings in the Islamic syariah court for
divorce as well as custody of their second son, Sharvin, 2.
During her appeal to the lower Court of Appeal on March 13, justices Suriyadi
Halim Omar and Hassan Lah - who made the majority 2-1 decision - told her to
take her case before the Syariah Court instead, while justice Gopal Sri Ram
dissented.
According to the majority decision, the injunction sought by Subashini was
unnecessary because the Syariah Court is competent enough decide on the
matter.
However, on March 30, Subashini was granted an interim injunction by the
Court of Appeal restraining Saravanan from pursuing his claims in the Islamic
court.
The injunction also effectively restrained him from converting their youngest
son to Islam and from pursuing his custody claims in the Syariah Court.
It was also held in the landmark ruling that a Muslim could apply to the
Islamic court to convert his or her underage children without permission from
the non-Muslim spouse.
Three possible outcomes
There are three likely possible outcomes from the Federal Court tomorrow:
1. The court may decide against Subashini on technical grounds - over the
date of Subashini's divorce petition which was within three months of her
husband's conversion date.
According to the law, the petition should be filed three months after the
conversion date. Subashini argued that she was not aware of the date of her
husband¡¯s conversion. If so, the case will be thrown out and lawyers can
choose to file her divorce petition again.
2. The court may decide against Subashini on substantive grounds - that the
Syariah Court has jurisdiction and orders her to take her case there. This
effectively rules that civil courts have no say in conversion cases
especially after syariah proceedings have commenced.
3. The court may decide for Subashini - she will get remedy in civil courts,
her husband may not proceed further in syariah courts and he has to go back
to civil courts because their marriage was originally solemnised under civil
law.
Aftershocks from Joy
This decision will be the second time the apex court is to decide on a matter
involving the vexing issue of religious freedom.
Previously, the Federal Court held that the jurisdiction on issues concerning
a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion lies with the Syariah
Court.
In the landmark judgment by former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul
Halim, Lina Joy was held to remained a Muslim and her religious status cannot
be removed from her identity card.
Born an ethnic Malay Muslim, and called Azlina Jailani, Joy was introduced to
Christianity in 1990.
It has left her fighting authorities, first for her new name to be put on her
identity card, then to have her former religion removed.
The controversial judgment has left the nation divided over one's freedom of
religion as enshrined in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
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