Indira Gandhi files lawsuit against IGP

 

M Indira Gandhi has filed a civil suit against Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador over the latter’s purported refusal to locate her ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah.

Her counsel, Rajesh Nagarajan informed Malaysiakini that the suit had been filed via e-filing to the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning.

Indira has been fighting to regain custody of her daughter Prasana Diksa, who had been taken by Riduan.

“It was done via e-filing,” Rajesh said when asked whether the writ of summons has been filed against the top cop this morning.

The lawyer confirmed that the suit was filed over the IGP’s alleged failure to enforce the court order to locate Riduan.

“Yes, (the suit is) seeking damages for the failure of the IGP to purposefully refuse to locate the ex-husband,” Rajesh (photo) said.

Indira had said she would be filing a civil suit against Abdul Hamid this week.

Back in January, the IGP revealed he knew the whereabouts of Indira’s former husband Riduan and urged him to surrender himself.

This was despite an arrest warrant from the Federal Court for Riduan, who had absconded with Prasana.

Prasana was an infant when her father Riduan, previously named K Pathmanathan, took her away in 2009 after converting to Islam.

Riduan and Indira were later engaged in a tightly-watched interfaith custody battle after he unilaterally converted Prasana and their two other children to Islam.

In 2014, the High Court in Ipoh ordered the police to retrieve Prasana from her father. In 2016, the Federal Court ordered the IGP to arrest Riduan.

In 2018, the Federal Court unanimously ruled that unilateral conversions of children were unlawful as such decisions needed permission from both parents.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Riduan.

According to a copy of the lawsuit’s statement of claim which was made available to the media today, the listed defendants are the IGP (who is not named), the Royal Malaysian Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the government of Malaysia.

It was alleged that the IGP failed to abide by two orders of the Ipoh High Court issued on May 30, 2014.

The first order was a committal order for Riduan to be jailed for failing to return Prasana to Indira.

The second one was a recovery order for the Royal Malaysian Police and court bailiff to retrieve Prasana from Riduan and return her to Indira.

Indira claimed that the IGP has committed a tort of nonfeasance in public office by failing to arrest Riduan and recover Prasana.

The plaintiff is seeking declarations that the IGP has committed a tort of nonfeasance in public office and that the other three defendants are vicariously liable for the first defendant’s (IGP) tort of nonfeasance.

Indira also seeks general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, interest, costs, and any other order deemed fit by the court.

Meanwhile, at a related press conference at Petaling Jaya today, Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) chairperson Arun Doraisamy said that the large amount of RM100 million sought in the suit was due to the matter not being just about Indira Gandhi but about the rule of law and ensuring authorities comply with it.

“If we cannot get our authorities to obey a court order, what else we can (do)? The amount (R100 million) is synonymous with the gravity of the case.

“It is not just about Indira alone but also about the institution of enforcement and system of justice,” he said.

Arun reiterated that the lawsuit seeks to ensure that Malaysia’s system of justice is level for everybody in the country.

He also said that the legal action is timely as there is great concern about the welfare of Prasana, whereby he claimed the last time she was last seen was in 2015.

“It is of great concern to us whether this girl (Prasana) could have been abused or taken out of the country (Malaysia),” he said. - Mkini