PUTRAJAYA: An appeal filed by a Hindu family relating to a dispute over the religious status of former secondary school teacher B. Raguram who died four years ago has been settled amicably.
This followed a consent order recorded before a three-member bench of the Court of Appeal chaired by Justice S. Nantha Balan yesterday.
The consent order, containing seven terms, was read out in court by lawyer A. Surendra Ananth, representing widow M. Rajeswary and her two daughters, Bernama reported.
He said the respondents, comprising the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais), the Shah Alam Syariah High Court and the Selangor government, had agreed to the terms in the consent order.
Lawyer Arham Rahimy Hariri, representing Mais, and Selangor state assistant legal adviser Khairul Nizam Abu Bakar, appearing for the Syariah High Court and the state government, confirmed the matter.
The terms include that Raguram’s widow and children are to inherit all of Raguram’s assets, including his pension, gratuity, emoluments and other interests.
The other terms are that Raguram’s body, which had been buried according to Hindu funeral rites, not be disturbed, and that the respondents will not enforce the order issued by the Shah Alam Syariah Court on May 21, 2020 to allow Mais to register and administer Raguram’s purported conversion and burial of his body according to Islamic rites.The Syariah Court made that order after it ruled that Raguram was a Muslim at the time of death.
Another term of the consent order is that Raguram’s widow and daughters remain Hindus.
Justice Nantha Balan, sitting with Justices Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and Dr Choo Kah Sing, thanked the parties for their cooperation and commended Mais and the Selangor government for their display of tolerance.
“Nothing is impossible. Even appeals involving sensitive matters can be resolved amicably,” he said.
“Hopefully, this settlement will be an aspiration for others to refrain from taking the confrontation approach,” he said.
On May 21, 2020, the Syariah High Court in Shah Alam issued an order declaring that Raguram had converted to Islam on Nov 8, 2012 and that he was a Muslim at the time of death, and allowed Mais to take necessary action to register and administer Raguram’s purported conversion and burial of his body according to Islamic rites.
Raguram’s widow and their two daughters filed a judicial review in September 2020 in the Civil High Court to challenge the Syariah High Court order.
They named Mais, the Syariah High Court and the Selangor government as respondents.
The High Court, in November 2022, dismissed the family’s suit and the family subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal.
