The Federal Court has rejected a man’s application for leave to appeal a decision by the Court of Appeal which awarded sole custody of his four-year-old daughter to his former wife.
A three-member panel led by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim threw out the application of R Kannan, 38, and ordered him to pay RM50,000 in costs to V Thevitthra, 32.
Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices Rhodzariah Bujang and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Thevitthra’s lawyer, R Renuga, confirmed the decision. Kannan’s counsel, Sreedhara Naidu, declined to comment.
The battle began in 2023 when the High Court in Shah Alam gave Thevitthra interim custody during divorce proceedings, with Kannan allowed supervised visits twice a month.
During one such visit on Sept 2, 2023, Kanan allegedly drove off with the child.
Immigration records later revealed that they left Malaysia on Nov 5 that year.
Court documents show the girl has been living in Dubai for nearly two years, with her mother denied all contact.
On May 17, 2024, the High Court gave Thevitthra sole custody and ordered Kannan to return the child immediately. Kannan was also told to pay RM8,000 in costs.
In May this year, the court later issued a committal order, followed in June by a warrant of committal after he failed to obey.
Kannan’s appeal to the Court of Appeal was struck out in May for being filed out of time, with costs of RM10,000 awarded against him.
In the Federal Court, his lawyer argued the filing delay was minor and that the appeal had merit.
Thevitthra’s lawyer countered that Kannan had acted in bad faith by disobeying repeated custody orders and using the courts to keep the child away from her.
The Federal Court agreed, dismissing his bid to take the case further.
