MAJLIS AGAMA ISLAM SELANGOR v 1. ) NIVETHAH A/P THAMAYANDIRAN 2. ) SWETHA A/P THAMAYANDIRAN
Outcome
We therefore are unanimously of the view that the above- stated appealable errors more than justify our appellate intervention to set aside the order of the High Court and accordingly to allow the appeals by the two appellants in Appeal 72 and Appeal 100, respectively. [100] We however make no order in respect of costs.
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (3)
Counsel (7)
Case Significance
Holds that a person born a Muslim under section 2(1)(b) of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 who seeks a declaration of non-Muslim status brings a renunciation case within the jurisdiction of the Syariah High Court under Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution.
This Court of Appeal decision, one of two appeals heard together, concerns the religious status of two respondents and which court has jurisdiction to determine it. The respondents had sought a declaration in the civil High Court that they were never Muslims. The principal question was whether the statutory definition of a Muslim in the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 — under which, by section 2(1)(b), a person is a Muslim at birth if either parent is a Muslim — applied where the person was born illegitimate. This appeal was brought by the state Islamic religious council against the High Court's conclusion that the definition did not apply to the respondents. The Court of Appeal held that the High Court had erred: on the evidence, the respondents were already Muslims, having been born as Muslims by virtue of section 2(1)(b) of the Enactment. It followed that their application for a declaration that they had never been Muslims had to be construed, in substance, as a request for a declaration that they were no longer Muslims — that is, as a renunciation case rather than an ab initio case. That characterisation was decisive as to jurisdiction. Renunciation cases, involving a declaration that a person is no longer a Muslim, fall within the jurisdiction of the Syariah Courts, and in adherence to Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution it is the Selangor Syariah High Court, in accordance with section 61(3)(b)(x) of the Enactment, that has jurisdiction to hear and determine such an application, not the civil High Court. Because the High Court's ruling that section 2(1)(b) did not apply was flawed, the consequences that flowed from it could not stand, and the Court allowed the appeal accordingly. The result confirms that the characterisation of a claim about religious status turns on a person's status at birth under the applicable state Enactment, which in turn fixes the proper forum for the dispute.
Summary
MAIS appealed the High Court's declaration that two sisters born out of wedlock to a Hindu mother and Muslim father were Hindus and entitled to identity cards without the Islam designation. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that under section 2(1)(b) of the Selangor Administration of the Religion of Islam Enactment 2003, a person born when either parent is Muslim is deemed a Muslim regardless of legitimacy, and that the case was properly characterised as one of renunciation falling within Syariah Court jurisdiction. The High Court's declarations were set aside with no order as to costs.
Which court has jurisdiction to determine whether the respondents are no longer Muslims?
The Court of Appeal held that, since the respondents were born Muslims under section 2(1)(b) of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003, their claim was in substance a renunciation case — a request for a declaration that they are no longer Muslims. In adherence to Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, the Selangor Syariah High Court, under section 61(3)(b)(x) of the Enactment, has jurisdiction over such a matter, not the civil High Court.
Did the statutory definition of a Muslim apply to a person born illegitimate?
The Court of Appeal held that the High Court had erred in concluding that section 2(1)(b) of the Enactment did not apply, and found on the evidence that the respondents were already Muslims, having been born as Muslims because a parent was a Muslim. That finding meant their claim was a renunciation case falling within the Syariah Court's jurisdiction.
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (3)
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Malaysia Courts portal.
Read on eJudgmentSource: eJudgment (b-01ncvca-100-02-2024)