Malaysiakini – 1 hour 13 minutes ago
The Court of Appeal today dismissed the bid by Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah to challenge the Seremban High Court's decision to grant his Hindu ex-wife S Deepa custody of their children.
The court dismissed the appeal with cost, set at RM10,000.
In an unanimous decision, the three-member panel led by Justice Abdul Aziz Abd Rahman also dismissed Izwan's appeal against the recovery order issued by the Seremban High Court.
However, the court granted Izwan a three-week stay of execution with regard to the recovery order for him to file an appeal.
The recovery order was issued after Izwan had snatched the couple's six-year-old son from his ex-wife.
Citing the controversial interfaith custody battle of R Subashini as precedent, Justice Abdul Aziz ruled that the syariah court has no jurisdiction to dissolve a marriage solemnised under civil law.
"The appeal is dismissed, the High Court has the jurisdiction to grant custody," he said.
Deepa and Izwan, whose previous name was N Viran, were married in 2003.
The husband converted to Islam and obtained custody of both children on Sept 19 last year from the Syariah High Court in Seremban.
The children were converted to Islam in April 2013 without the mother's knowledge.
On April 7, the Seremban High Court awarded custody of the children to Deepa but did not rule on their conversion.
Two days later, Izwan took away the couple's son from Deepa's house in Jelebu.
Following the application of the parents, both the High Court and the Syariah High Court issued recovery orders compelling the police to track down the children.
The police rejected the orders, blaming this on the conflicting decisions of the civil and syariah courts
