The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya today set Dec 17 to decide on an appeal brought by a Muslim-convert father over the custody of his two children with his Hindu former wife.

A three-member panel chaired by Abdul Aziz Ab Rahim fixed the decision date after hearing submissions from N Viran’s counsel, Mohd Haniff Katri Abdulla, and counsel Fahri Azzat representing his former wife S Deepa.

Justices Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Ahmadi Asnawi were the other two judges presiding on the panel.

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said the same panel would also deliver its decision on the same day (Dec 17) in another child custody matter where the inspector-general of police was appealing against a mandamus order issued by the Ipoh High Court for him to execute court orders to find and return M Indira Gandhi’s ( centre in photo ) youngest daughter and arrest her converted former husband Mohd Ridhuan Abdullah.

He said the court would also decide on Dec 17, whether to proceed with Viran’s appeal on a recovery order obtained by Deepa from the High Court to direct the police to locate her six-year-old son, Mithran, who was with Viran.

In today’s proceeding at the Court of Appeal, Viran, whose Muslim name is Izwan Abdullah, was appealing against the Seremban High Court order on April 7, this year, which granted custody of his nine-year-old daughter Sharmila and Mithran to their mother.

The High Court on that day had also granted Viran weekly visitation rights on his children, as well as allowed Deepa’s application for dissolution of her civil marriage with Viran since he had converted to Islam.

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.

‘Specific Islamic law provisions to resolve disputes’

During submission, Haniff Katri argued that there were specific Islamic law provisions which provided jurisdiction for the Syariah Court to resolve family disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims.

“Therefore, it is clear by reference to Islamic jurisprudence, not only does the Syariah Court have jurisdiction over a non-Muslim in the situation where a Muslim's rights are overlapping with a non-Muslim’s rights, especially so in a situation of conversion like this case,” he said.

Haniff Katri said the Syariah Court was duty-bound to resolve the dispute by applying the correct Islamic principles and where the situations justified, could grant the necessary reliefs to the non-Muslim spouse.

He said the High Court was wrong to grant custody to Deepa because the civil court did not have the jurisdiction to entertain a non-Muslim spouse’s custody application against a Muslim spouse.

Meanwhile, Fahri argued that the Syariah Courts did not have the jurisdiction over matters concerning custody of children of a non-Muslim marriage.

He said if one spouse converted to Islam during the marriage, the marriage itself was defined as a non-Muslim marriage governed under the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976.

“The civil courts are granted exclusive jurisdiction to hear matters pertaining to a non-Muslim marriage,” he added.

- Bernama