Justice Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, the news portal reported, noted that “pendaftar Muallaf” or registrar of Muslim converts who registered the children as Muslims – particularly in the M Indira Gandhi case – fell under the purview of the Perak Islamic Religious Department’s (JAIPk) director.
Justice Hamid Sultan was the dissenting judge in the Court of Appeal bench that recently upheld the unilateral conversion of Indira’s three children to Islam.
Thus, the judge argued, any administrative decision made by the registrar was subject to judicial review and the civil court has jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Article 121 (1A), Justice Hamid Sultan explained in his written judgment on the case that was sighted by Malay Mail Online, does not permit the civil courts to deal with matters within the jurisdiction of the Syariah Courts.
“However, it does not exclude the jurisdiction of the civil courts’ judicial review powers in the administrative decision of the state or its agencies and/or its officers.
“What the civil courts cannot do is to intervene in the lawful decision of the Shariah Courts made within its jurisdiction and not in excess of its jurisdiction,” the news portal quoted him as stating.
Last week, the Court of Appeals overturned the Ipoh High Court’s ruling that quashed the unilateral conversion of Indira’s three children to Islam by her Muslim convert ex-husband.
On July 2013, the Ipoh High Court quashed the certificates of conversion of Tevi Darshiny, Karan Dinesh, and Prasana Diksa, declaring it null and void.