The lawyer of M Indira Gandhi has questioned the "agenda" behind Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail's decision to intervene in the two interfaith custody cases in Ipoh and Seremban.
M Kulasegaran told Malaysiakini today that he was "shocked" with the AG's decision to intervene by applying to cancel the custody orders issued by both the civil and syariah courts, and to expedite the matter at the Federal Court.
"Is this because the prime minister holds the view (that the Federal Court should solve interfaith custody battles)?" he asked.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak previously said the Federal Court should solve interfaith custody battles when there are contradictory orders between both the High Court and the Syariah Court.
The AG will seek to cancel the custody and recovery orders in both the cases of Indira and S Deepa.
In Indira's case, an arrest order had also been issued on her ex-husband Ridzuan Abdullah for refusing to return the couple's youngest daughter despite previous court orders.
"The custody order for this case was issued four years ago. This issue has already been ventilated by the High Court. Why is the AG acting now?" Kulasegaran asked.
He said that when Indira attempted to quash the conversion of her two children, made unilaterally by her ex-husband in 2010, the AG Chambers had "fought tooth and nail" to prevent the matter from being brought to the Federal Court.
"I will take advice from my client and we await the AG's application excitedly," he added.
Meanwhile, the lawyer of Deepa, Joanne Leong, said the intervention "was not necessary" as there have been many such cases that have been handled by the High Court before.
"These are not the only cases regarding this matter. There have been many cases before us and they have been decided by the civil courts," she said.
"The rights of the non-Muslims are protected by the civil court," she said.
Both Deepa and Indira have one of their children still remaining with their ex-husbands despite the court orders, as the police had refused to act on both cases due to the Syariah Court orders granting custody to the converted ex-husbands.
M Kulasegaran told Malaysiakini today that he was "shocked" with the AG's decision to intervene by applying to cancel the custody orders issued by both the civil and syariah courts, and to expedite the matter at the Federal Court.
"Is this because the prime minister holds the view (that the Federal Court should solve interfaith custody battles)?" he asked.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak previously said the Federal Court should solve interfaith custody battles when there are contradictory orders between both the High Court and the Syariah Court.
The AG will seek to cancel the custody and recovery orders in both the cases of Indira and S Deepa.
In Indira's case, an arrest order had also been issued on her ex-husband Ridzuan Abdullah for refusing to return the couple's youngest daughter despite previous court orders."The custody order for this case was issued four years ago. This issue has already been ventilated by the High Court. Why is the AG acting now?" Kulasegaran asked.
He said that when Indira attempted to quash the conversion of her two children, made unilaterally by her ex-husband in 2010, the AG Chambers had "fought tooth and nail" to prevent the matter from being brought to the Federal Court.
"I will take advice from my client and we await the AG's application excitedly," he added.
Meanwhile, the lawyer of Deepa, Joanne Leong, said the intervention "was not necessary" as there have been many such cases that have been handled by the High Court before.
"These are not the only cases regarding this matter. There have been many cases before us and they have been decided by the civil courts," she said.
"The rights of the non-Muslims are protected by the civil court," she said.
Both Deepa and Indira have one of their children still remaining with their ex-husbands despite the court orders, as the police had refused to act on both cases due to the Syariah Court orders granting custody to the converted ex-husbands.
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