In a majority decision, the panel led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat held that the case warranted judicial intervention.
“Our decision today concerns only whether the fatwa is applicable to an organisation,” Tengku Maimun said.
SIS had sought to quash a 2014 fatwa by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) that the NGO had deviated from the teachings of Islam by purportedly subscribing to “liberalism” and “religious pluralism”.
It failed in its previous challenge of the fatwa in the lower courts between 2019 and 2023.
Tengku Maimun, along with Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Justice Nalini Pathmanathan, formed the majority in today’s ruling while Justice Abu Bakar Jais dissented.
Another panel member, Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, retired in April.
Tengku Maimun said that a fatwa could not be imposed on an organisation like SIS which could not “profess” a religion.
She added that the phrase “persons professing the religion of Islam” in the Federal Constitution refers exclusively to natural persons, not entities such as companies or organisations.
“This constitutional interpretation aligns with the fact that only natural persons can profess the shahadah, perform prayers, fast during Ramadan, and perform the haj – core tenets of the Islamic faith.
“A company, being an artificial entity, lacks the capacity to repent as contemplated by the fatwa,” she said, adding that action may still be taken against SIS office bearers who breach the fatwa.
Tengku Maimun said the court had not evaluated the theological aspects of the fatwa, as such matters fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of state religious authorities.
“Our focus was solely on the legal limits of jurisdiction, not the validity of religious opinions,” she said.
SIS was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Surendra Ananth while the Selangor government was represented by state legal adviser Salim Soib @ Hamid.
Lawyers Haniff Khatri Abdulla and Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar appeared for the Selangor fatwa committee while Yusfarizal Yussoff represented Mais.
In 2014, Mais decreed that SIS had deviated from the teachings of Islam by purportedly subscribing to “liberalism” and “religious pluralism”.
In October 2014, SIS, a company limited by guarantee established under the Companies Act 1965, filed for judicial review. It contended that the fatwa was unconstitutional and could not be imposed on a corporate entity governed by civil law.
The case evolved into a constitutional battle over whether religious edicts can be enforced against non-religious organisations, and whether civil courts have the jurisdiction to review them.