Everest hero M Moorthy has been buried, but this has not put to rest the controversy surrounding his funeral rites.

This morning, a coalition of Hindu non-governmental organisations petitioned the King (photo) to immediately suspend Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Md Raus Sharif and then remove him from the Bench.

Md Raus has presided over the hearing which decided that the court has no jurisdiction in reviewing the Syariah Court's decision in this matter.

The Hindu Rights Action Force (HRAF) begged to differ.

In its petition, it said: "The presiding judge, by refusing to dwell in the said matter has effectively failed to exercise his legitimate right as an umpire conferred upon him by the Federal Constitution.

"In our opinion this is nothing but a serious misconduct on the part of the judge."

The group submitted its petition in Kuala Lumpur through Istana Negara royal affairs department head Guli Tahir.

HRAF comprises some 30 NGOs including Hindu Seva Sangam, Vivekananda Youth Movement, Malaysian Indian Youth Council and Tamil Foundation. It was formed in response to the high court's decision on Moorthy's case on Dec 28 last year.

Moorthy was said to have embraced Islam. When he died, there was a tussle for his body between his widow S Kaliammal and Islamic religious authorities.

Kaliammal claimed that her husband was a practising Hindu, but the Syariah Court ruled that he was a Muslim and hence must be buried according to Islamic rites.

'Intolerable decision'

M Ramachandran, who signed the petition on behalf the NGOs said the decision "is nothing but an admonitory".

"This practice cannot be tolerated and must never be encouraged in a multi-racial society, as it could have far-reaching effects," the petition said.

He said the public perception and confidence in the judicial system and administration has eroded following the decision.

"This too has tarnished the image of the judiciary and brought disrepute," he said adding that the public wants to have continued assurance that the judicial system would prevail and has supremacy over all other bodies, both Islamic and non-Islamic.

HRAF spokesperson P Waytha Moorthy said the petition was to express the coalition's dissatisfaction with the government over its lack of action in relation to minority religious rights.

"We have no choice but to submit the petition to the King as the law has failed to take care of the minority rights," he said.

He added the coalition will take further action in its campaign to uphold the rights of minority religious groups.