High Court allows bid to block Syariah Court

Athi Shankar FMT

 |
July 25, 2014 

 

The Ipoh High Court has granted leave to
Indira Gandhi for an order of mandamus compelling the IGP to execute a
warrant of arrest against her ex-husband

IPOH:
The Ipoh High Court has granted leave to kindergarten teacher M Indira
Gandhi for an order of mandamus to compel the Inspector-General of
Police Khalid Abu Bakar to execute a warrant of arrest against
ex-husband Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah.




High Court Judge Lee Swee Seng also issued an order of prohibition to
restrain or prohibit the execution of the Syariah Court order.




“We intend to execute the order quickly,” said Indira Gandhi’s lawyer M Kulasegaran in a statement.


Indira Gandhi had applied for leave of the High Court to get a
judicial remedy to compel IGP Khalid to execute the warrant of arrest on
her ex-husband Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah, previously known as
Pathmanathan.




Judge Lee ordered the police and the education department to search
and return the divorced couple’s youngest daughter Prasana Diksa to
Indra Gandhi.




Indira Gandhi filed the application after Khalid declined to execute the arrest order.




In April 2009, Ridzuan took away Prasana, then 11 months old, and
converted her and two siblings, Tevi Darsiny, 12, and Karan Dinish, 11,
to Islam without Indira Gandhi’s knowledge.


She won custody of her three children by a High Court order in 2010.




Kulasegaran hailed Lee’s decision today as a landmark decision with far reaching consequences.


“To the best of our knowledge it is the first of its kind against an IGP in any country in the world,” he said.




“We congratulate and praise the correct and bold decision delivered
by Judge Lee,” said Kulasegaran, also the DAP national vice-chairman and
Ipoh Barat MP.




The full hearing is fixed for Sept 12.