This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 30, 2015.

PUTRAJAYA: Seven months after hearing submissions, the Court of Appeal will rule today whether the conversion certificates of three minors who were made Muslims unilaterally by one parent can be challenged in a Civil Court.

Lawyer Aston Paiva, who appeared for kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi, the mother of the children, said the Court of Appeal registry informed the parties last week of the verdict date.

“The decision by a three-man bench will be delivered at 9am on Dec 30,” stated the letter signed by the court deputy registrar Sharifah Norazlita Syed Salim Aidid.

The Perak Religious Department, state and federal governments, Registrar of Conversions, Education Ministry and Indira’s ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah are challenging a High Court decision to quash the children’s conversion certificates.

The conversion certificates of the children — Tevi Darsiny, Karan Dinish and Prasana Diksa — were quashed by High Court judge Lee Swee Seng on July 25, 2013.

Lee had also ruled that the documents were null and void, citing provisions under Perak Syariah Law that require a child to be present to utter the affirmation of faith or the “syahadah” before a certificate of conversion could be issued.

Muhammad Riduan, however, had obtained certificates without the presence of the children before the registrar of conversions.

On May 26, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan told the appellate court that Muhammad Riduan could unilaterally convert the children and the Civil Court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

“Only the Syariah Court is the right forum as the subject matter is about conversion.”

He said the Civil Court could not adjudicate the matter even if the registrar who facilitated the conversion did not follow procedures.

He added that it was legal for the father to unilaterally convert the children because the Federal Court had pronounced that a parent could do so without the consent of his or her spouse. — The Malaysian Insider