At a press conference, activist Arun Dorasamy said M Indira Gandhi and 13 other plaintiffs had filed an originating summons at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on March 3.

Arun, the Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) spokesman, said the plaintiffs will be relying on the 2018 Federal Court ruling on Indira’s case, which found unilateral conversions to be unconstitutional.

Currently, state laws in the Federal Territories, Perlis, Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Johor allow for unilateral conversions.

It has been five years since the landmark case and there are still states practising unilateral conversion in line with their state enactments, Arun said, when explaining the group’s decision to file the action.

“We are seeking a declaration from the High Court that the enactments from the seven states and the Federal Territories are null and void,” he told reporters at the Hindu Service Centre here today.

“(We also want) all unilateral conversions since Jan 29, 2018 declared null and void.”

The Federal Court’s ruling in 2018 nullified the unilateral conversion of Indira’s three children.

In the case, the apex court interpreted the word “parent” in Article 12(4) to mean both parents of a child,  provided they were still alive. This means any conversion would require the consent of both living parents.

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