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WOMAN WINS HIGH COURT BATTLE TO GAIN CUSTODY OF CHILD AFTER SPOUSE CONVERTS TO ISLAM
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12/03/2010
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IPOH, MALAYSIA, March 12 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- After a long legal battle, kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi on Thursday wept tears of joy when the High Court in this capital of the northern Malaysian state of Perak granted her custody of her youngest child.
Judge Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim, who made the decision in chambers, ordered that Prasana Diksa, 22 months, be handed over to Indira Gandhi, 35.
The custody battle had dragged on for more than a year after her former husband, who had converted to Islam and taken on the name of Mohamed Ridzuan Abdullah, sought to contest a court order which gave Indira Gandhi temporary custody of her three children.
Indira Gandhi's lawyer, M. Kulasegaran, said with the decision, Mohamed Ridzuan or whoever was having custody of Prasana Diksa must surrender the child to Indira Gandhi with immediate effect.
Kulasegaran, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ipoh West, said the court's decision was based on the 2007 case of R. Subashini, in which the High Court ruled it had the right to set aside a decision of the Syariah Court.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Indira Gandhi said she hoped that Prasana Diksa, whom she last met in January, would be handed over to her without delay. With her two other children in tow, she kept bursting into tears and repeatedly thanked her lawyers for the outcome.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Faizal Che Yusof, Mohamed Ridzwan's lawyer, said they would be filing an urgent appeal for a stay of execution of the judgment pending appeal to the Appeals Court as they were of the view that the High Court had no jurisdiction to decide on this case.
Mohamed Ridzuan, who was clearly disappointed with the development, said he would stand by the decision of the Syariah Court, which on Oct 29 last year gave him custody of all his three children.
"I had converted all three of them to Islam. She (Indira Gandhi) is not qualified for custody. I do not want my children to become beggars," he said when met outside the court.
Their other two children are Ummu Salamah (Tevi Darsiny), 13, and Abu Bakar (Karan Dinish), 12.
On April 24 last year, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim had allowed an ex-parte application by Indra Gandhi for temporary custody of her three children and an injunction to prevent her former husband from entering their house.
However, on May 5, the court granted Mohamed Ridzuan a stay of execution of the order, leaving the situation to return to status quo with the father having custody of the youngest child and Indira Ganhdi the elder two, until Thursday's High Court decision.
The case has drawn wide attention because of the conflicting powers of the Syariah and civil courts in cases involving custody of children when one of the spouses converts to Islam. In malaysia, just over 60 per cent of the population of more than 28 million are Muslims. -- NNN-BERNAMA
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