PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court on Monday ruled that the unilateral conversion of Hindu mother M. Indira Ghandi's three children by her Muslim convert ex-husband is null and void.
A five-man panel, chaired by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, unanimously made the decision after allowing Indira's final appeal to challenge the validity of her children's conversion to Islam.
In a summary of a 99-page judgement read out by Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali, the court ruled that the consent of both parents is needed to convert a minor.
"The consent of both the appellant (Indira) and her husband are required before a Certificate of Conversion to Islam can be issued in respect of the children," she said.
Kindergarten teacher Indira, 43, had first filed a judicial review application in Aug 2009 at the Ipoh High Court to challenge the conversion of the three children – Tevi Darsiny, 21, Karan Dinish, 20 and Prasana Diksa, 10 – to Islam by Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, 48, whose Hindu name was K. Patmanathan.
Indira and Riduan became involved in a protracted custodial battle for the three children, with the Ipoh High Court giving her custody, in contrast to the Ipoh Syariah High Court's decision to award custody to Riduan.
The Ipoh High Court had allowed her judicial review bid to quash her children's conversion.
However, the ruling was reversed by the Court of Appeal.
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