IGP could not be forced to arrest Muslim-convert father, Court rules

In allowing an appeal by IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to set aside a mandamus order issued by the Ipoh High Court to compel him to arrest Mohd Ridhuan Abdullah and for him to return his daughter to M. Indira Gandhi, a three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz Ab Rahim ruled that the court could not give effect to the High Court's order as the matter involved a private feud.

"The mandamus order should not have been issued to enforce private rights," he said.

In a 2-1 majority judgment, Justice Abdul Aziz said that Indira Gandhi had not exhausted all legal remedies to locate her ex-husband and to find her child.

"She did not approach the court bailiff to find her child," said Justice Abdul Aziz, who presided the appeal with Justices Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi.

However, Justice Tengku Maimun, in a dissenting verdict, said that the High Court judge had not erred in issuing the mandamus order.

On Sept 12, this year, the High Court in Ipoh, Perak, allowed a judicial review application brought by Indira Gandhi for a mandamus order to compel Khalid to arrest Mohd Ridhuan and return their six-year-old daughter, Prasana Diksa to her.

In 2009, the Syariah Court in Ipoh had given Mohd Ridhuan, who was formerly known as K. Pathmanathan, custody of their three children, Tevin Darsiny, 17, Karan Dinish, 16, and Prasana, 6, after he unilaterally converted them to Islam.

In 2010, the Ipoh High Court granted Indira Gandhi full custody of all three children and Mohd Ridhuan was ordered to return Prasana Diksa to the mother.

On May 30, the Ipoh High Court cited Mohd Ridhuan for contempt and issued a warrant of arrest against him after he repeatedly failed to hand over Prasana Diksa to the mother.

Indira Gandhi had also obtained a recovery order from the High Court to compel the police to locate Mohd Ridhuan.

The same panel also dismissed an appeal brought by a Muslim-convert father Izwan Abdullah to set aside a Seremban Civil High Court order which gave custody of his two children to his Hindu ex-wife, S. Deepa.

Izwan, formerly known as N.Viran, had appealed against the order, issued on April 7 this year, granting custody of his nine-year-old daughter Sharmila and six-year-old son Mithran to their mother.

In a unanimous decision, Justice Abdul Aziz held that the Seremban Syariah High Court had no jurisdiction to resolve a civil marriage where one party had converted to Islam.

The judge said what the Syariah Court could do was to confirm the dissolution of the said marriage.

"The Syariah Court can merely confirm the dissolution of a marriage due to a conversion," he added.

He then ordered Izwan to pay RM10,000 in costs.

The panel also rejected Izwan's appeal on a recovery order obtained by Deepa from the High Court to direct the police to locate her son, Mithran, who was with Izwan.

However, the court allowed Izwan to stay the execution of the order within three weeks pending his leave to appeal at the Federal Court against the ruling.

Justice Abdul Aziz held that the High Court could issue the recovery order and it could make the necessary order according to the law.

The couple was married in March 2003 under Hindu rites.

Izwan, who became a Muslim in 2011, converted the children without his wife's knowledge in the same year and subsequently, obtained an order from the Seremban Syariah Court for custody, care and control of the children.