Deceased's religious status: Family, Mais urged to consider alternative solution

The Court of Appeal has suggested a Hindu family and Selangor’s Islamic authorities explore alternative methods in resolving a three-year legal battle on whether a former secondary school teacher died a Muslim or Hindu.

A three-person civil appellate bench chaired by judge S Nantha Balan proposed this during a hearing of an appeal by the family of B Raguram, who was buried in a Hindu funeral ceremony in March 2020.

Two months after Raguram’s death, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) obtained a Selangor Syariah Court declaration that he was a Muslim and that he should be buried as a Muslim.

The family went to the civil court to quash the religious court’s ruling. However, in November 2020, the Shah Alam High Court dismissed the family’s judicial review leave application, leading to their appeal.

During the online civil appellate proceedings today, Nantha made the suggestion after pointing out that there were serious disputes of fact on Raguram’s religious status.

The judge said these disputes could not be fully ventilated by the civil court three years ago due to the limitations of judicial review proceedings to decide on issues of fact.

Judicial review proceedings are conducted via affidavits, while a lawsuit initiated by writ of summons involves actual witness testimonies that can be cross-examined during full trials.

“Is it possible for parties that everything can be mediated and arbitrated? Is it possible for your clients on whether the issue that this person professed Islam be kept alive through civil proceedings, and name the family (of Raguram) as parties and get straight to the heart of the matter?

“That would take care of everyone’s arguments. No questions on non-Muslims going to the Syariah Court, and letting the civil court decide (via an actual lawsuit).

“I find this going around in circles and it keeps going on until it reaches the Federal Court. While this appeal is a work in progress, there are real people such as Mais and the family.

“They have their own concerns over the matter,” Nantha suggested to counsel Arham Rahimy Hariri, who is acting for Mais, one of the respondents in the appeal.

Provision invalid?

Earlier, the family’s counsel K Shanmuga submitted that the appeal should be allowed as a provision in the Selangor state Islamic enactment was invalid and unconstitutional.

The lawyer was referring to a provision dealing with the state Syariah Court’s power regarding determining the religious status of a deceased person who allegedly died a Muslim.

Shanmuga contended that the Syariah Court had transgressed its power in 2020 because unlike religious disputes involving living persons, the present one involved issues of property distribution to the non-Muslim family following Raguram’s death.

In response to Nantha’s suggestion, Arham said he needed to consult with his client on whether the state Islamic agency is amenable to the suggestion.

After consulting with appellate bench members Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and Choo Kah Sing, Nantha directed for the hearing to be postponed to allow parties to consider the panel’s suggestion on how to resolve the three-year dispute.

The appellants are Raguram’s widow and their two sons. Besides Mais, the other two respondents are the Shah Alam Syariah High Court and the Selangor state government.

As of date, Mais has not exhumed Raguram's body to rebury him, pending disposal of his family’s appeal before the Court of Appeal.

It was previously reported that Raguram was born a Hindu, but allegedly converted to Islam on Nov 8, 2012 in a school in Selangor in the presence of two individuals.

However, his widow and their children disputed this version of events, contending that Raguram has neither been a Muslim nor was he issued a certificate of Islamic conversion, with his identity card stating he was of Hindu faith.

It was reported on March 2, 2015 that Raguram affirmed a statutory declaration that he was intoxicated and had uttered the Kalimah Syahadah (the Islamic declaration of faith) out of fear over alleged threats by two individuals.

He was alleged to have continued practising Hinduism until his death on March 14, 2020.

The Shah Alam High Court cited that the civil court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter when it dismissed the family’s judicial review. - Mkini