A three-member bench chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail held that the conversions were ultra vires the Federal Constitution.

Hadhariah said the High Court judge had misdirected himself and committed an error of law.

She said the High Court erred by not following a 2018 Federal Court ruling in the case of Indira Gandhi.

“We are bound by the Indira Gandhi ruling. In this case, the mother did not consent to the conversion of her children to Islam,” she said.

In Indira’s case, a five-member apex court bench unanimously ruled that the conversion of children required the consent of both parents, even if one of the spouses had embraced Islam.

Hadhariah, who sat with Justices Hashim Hamzah and Azhahari Kamal Ramli, also said the bench was of the view that there was no evidence that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had prescribed the Malay text of the constitution as the authoritative text.

“Hence, we must follow the English text in interpreting Article 12(4) of the constitution,” she said, adding that the word “parent” in the English text refers to both parents.

The Court of Appeal also struck down a provision in the Perlis state enactment that allows unilateral conversions, saying it went against Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution.

Since this was a public interest case, the bench did not order costs.

Loh’s children were unilaterally converted to Islam by her former husband Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy in Perlis in 2020.

Loh took the matter to court, seeking a declaration that a provision in the state enactment allowing a parent to unilaterally convert minor children was unconstitutional.

She also wanted a declaration that her twin daughters, aged 15, and son, aged 12, were still Hindus.

Loh named the registrar of converts, the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs), state mufti Asri Zainul Abidin and the state government as respondents.

Last May, the High Court dismissed Loh’s judicial review application, saying there was no evidence that the three children stopped professing Islam after she gained custody of them, giving rise to the present appeal.

In his ruling, Justice Wan Farid Wan Salleh also said the Perlis state registrar of converts was satisfied that the legal requirements of Section 107(1) of a 2006 Perlis state enactment had been adhered to, and that the children had professed the Syahadah proclamation voluntarily.

Lawyers A Srimurugan, J Gunamalar, Shamsher Singh Thind and Thian Yee Chin appeared for Loh who was present in court.

Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla represented MAIPs, while Perlis state legal adviser Radhi Abas appeared for the rest.

Haniff told reporters that he had instructions to file an appeal to the Federal Court.

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