Lawyer Arham Rahimy said deputy registrar Durratul Izzah Mukmin has now fixed May 28 to resume the appeal hearing should the attempt to explore settlement draw a blank.
“A case management has been fixed on May 14 to inform the status of the outcome of the settlement, if any,” he told FMT.
On Oct 30, a three-member bench chaired by Justice S Nantha Balan adjourned the hearing to yesterday (Feb 29) for the parties to attempt an amicable resolution.
Arham said the late B Raguram’s family, the appellant in the case, had made a proposal that needed to be considered by the respondents – the council, the Selangor government and the state shariah high court.
“The respondents need time to reconsider the suggestion,” he said, adding that he was not at liberty to reveal the proposal.
Lawyer Arifudin Hanafi also appeared for the council, and assistant state legal adviser Khairul Nizam Abu Bakar for the government and the religious court. Evangeline Yii represented Raguram’s family at the case management.
Nantha had said during the Oct 30 hearing the matter was sensitive with numerous implications for the family of Raguram in several areas.
The present appeal arose following a ruling by the Shah Alam High Court on Nov 10, 2022, that it had no jurisdiction to hear and determine whether Raguram died a Muslim.
Justice Shahnaz Sulaiman said the matter fell within the domain of the Selangor shariah court in light of a decision by the Federal Court in the case of Rosliza Ibrahim v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor & Anor pronounced two years ago.
Shahnaz said a statutory declaration which Raguram affirmed on March 2, 2015 showed he had converted to Islam.
Dismissing the judicial review application, the judge said the only issue before her was whether Raguram was still a Muslim when he died on March 14, 2020.
In September 2020, Raguram’s widow, M Rajeswary, and her two daughters sought declarations that Raguram professed the Hindu faith when he died and that the shariah court had no jurisdiction to determine his religious status.
The suit also sought an order prohibiting the shariah high court from giving the religious council the authority to exhume Raguram’s remains.
The shariah court had on May 21, 2020, ruled that Raguram was a Muslim at the time of his death and issued consequential orders on that premise.