An appeal before the Court of Appeal by a widow and her two daughters seeking to determine the religious status of her deceased husband, a former secondary schoolteacher who died four years ago, has been settled amicably.
This follows a consent order recorded before a three-member bench chaired by Justice M Nantha Balan today.
Lawyer A Surendra Ananth, who represented M Rajeswary and her two underage daughters, informed the bench that the Selangor Islamic Religious Council had agreed not to claim any interest in the assets of B Raguram.
This includes his pension, gratuity and other emoluments to which the widow is entitled.
Surendra also said that Raguram’s body, which had been buried at a Hindu cemetery, would remain there.
The Selangor government has also agreed not to enforce the shariah court order which triggered the present proceedings in the civil courts.
“Raguram’s underage daughters will remain Hindus,” he said.
Lawyer Arham Rahimy, who represented the council, and Selangor assistant legal adviser Khairul Nizam Abu Bakar, who appeared for the state government and the shariah high court, both confirmed the settlement terms.
Nantha Balan, who sat with Justices Nazlan Ghazali and Choo Kah Sing, thanked the parties for their cooperation. He also commended the council and the state government for their display of tolerance.
“Nothing is impossible. Even appeals involving sensitive matters can be resolved amicably. This settlement could inspire others to refrain from taking the path of confrontation,” he said.
The appellate bench had on the first day of the appeal hearing last year asked parties to explore a settlement.
The dispute arose after the shariah court ruled on May 21, 2020 that Raguram was a Muslim at the time of his death and issued several consequential orders on that premise.
In September 2020, Rajeswary and her daughters filed a judicial review application in the Shah Alam High Court to challenge the shariah court ruling. They named the council, the shariah high court and the Selangor government as respondents.
The trio sought declarations that Raguram was of the Hindu faith when he died and that the shariah court had no jurisdiction to determine his religious status.
The suit also sought an order prohibiting the shariah high court from giving the religious council the authority to exhume Raguram’s remains.
On Nov 10, 2022, the Shah Alam High Court ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear and determine whether Raguram died a Muslim, triggering the present appeal.
Justice Shahnaz Sulaiman said the matter fell within the domain of the Selangor shariah court in light of a decision of the Federal Court in the case of Rosliza Ibrahim v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor & Anor pronounced two years ago.
Shahnaz added that a statutory declaration which Raguram affirmed on March 2, 2015 showed he had converted to Islam.
Dismissing the judicial review application, the judge said the only issue before her was whether Raguram was still a Muslim when he passed away on March 14, 2020.
