Court of Appeal dismisses Indira Gandhi’s RM100m suit despite flagging police shortcomings
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 24 — The Court of Appeal today dismissed Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi’s appeal to reinstate...
The Court of Appeal today rejected a RM100 million lawsuit filed by Indira Gandhi, a Hindu mother, against the Malaysian police and government. The lawsuit aimed to track down her youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa, who was abducted in 2009. The three-member bench, led by Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, acknowledged the police's shortcomings in maintaining arrest warrant records but ruled that the available evidence did not prove police inaction directly caused Prasana's absence.
The court emphasized that private law damages cannot be granted merely to penalize administrative inefficiencies, as they compensate for loss caused by actionable wrongs, not unsatisfactory administrative performance. Indira filed the suit in October 2020, alleging that her ex-husband, K. Pathmanathan, also known as Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, abducted Prasana in March 2009.
The High Court granted Indira full custody in March 2010, ordering Pathmanathan to return Prasana immediately or face imprisonment. Despite procedural weaknesses in police documentation, the judges clarified that this does not imply a general immunity for the police or that ignoring lawful orders is legally inconsequential.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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