PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest M. Indira Gandhi’s ex-husband Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah for contempt of court.
Ridhuan, formerly known as K. Patmanathan, had refused to return the couple’s youngest child Prasana Diksa, whom he abducted in 2009, to Indira.
Speaking to reporters outside court, Indira was in tears upon hearing the decision.
The decision was delivered by Court of Appeal President Raus Sharif.
The other Federal Court judges on the bench were Justices Azahar Mohamed, Zaharah Ibrahim and Aziah Ali. Another member of the bench Justice Abdull Hamid Embong, had retired earlier this month.
The apex court also ordered the High Court in Ipoh to monitor the arrest.
The entire saga began in April 2009 after Ridhuan abducted Prasana, then 11 months old, and converted her along with her siblings, Tevi Darsiny, then 12, and Karan Dinish, then 11, to Islam.
On Oct 29 the same year, Ridhuan obtained a Shariah Court order which awarded him custody of the children, sparking a custody battle.
On March 11, 2010, the Ipoh High Court granted Indira full custody of all three children and Ridhuan was ordered to surrender Prasana to Indira.
Indira, who had been challenging the conversion for over four years, managed to quash the conversion certificates of her three children on July 25, 2013.
Meanwhile, Gerakan lauded the Federal Court’s ruling this morning.
The party’s Deputy National Youth Chief Andy Yong said the order affirms that only civil courts have jurisdiction over custody cases in a civil marriage, even if one party later converts to Islam.
“The Federal Constitution clearly spells out that Shariah Courts only have jurisdiction over Muslims.
“As such, all parties’ interests are safeguarded, and hopefully, this long standing chapter of interfaith custody can be closed now,” he said in a statement.