Author: Associated Press
Publication: The Statesman
Date: December 28, 2007
Malaysia's highest court today rejected on technicalgrounds
an appeal by an ethnic Indian Hindu woman to stop her Muslim convert husband
from seeking a divorce in the Islamic Sharia court, while upholding the man's
right to change the religion of their youngest son. The petition of Ms R Subashini(29)
was rejected by the Federal Court as she had filed it within three months of
the conversion of her husband, Mr Saravanan Thangathoray alias Mohammed Shafi
Abdullah(32). Her lawyers said she will again file the petition in the High
Court to meet the legal requirement that it should be filed three months after
the conversion. Ms Subashini is not opposed to divorcing her husband but she
wants the procedure to take place in a civil court. The Federal Court today
said her Muslim convert husband had a right to approach the Shariah courts.
It also upheld his right to convert the couple's youngest son to Islam. Saravanan
claims that the elder child had converted to Islam with him. The judgment said
both civil courts and Sharia courts have equal status in Malaysia. A clear picture
of today's ruling would emerge after a full reading of the verdict, lawyers
said. Nik Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman, presiding judgel, noted that "civil
courts continue to have jurisdiction, despite her husband's conversion.