Mahkamah Rayuan batal permohonan lelaki cabar status agama Islam

Mahkamah Rayuan has rejected a male's application to declare his status as Sikh and not previously an adherent of Islam. The court ruled that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court because of the act of apostasy. A three-judge panel, comprising Judges Firuz Jaffril, Faizah Jamaludin, and Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, unanimously allowed the appeal from the Putrajaya Muslim Youth Congress (MAIWP) and the government.

The judges stated that official documents indicated that Shehzad was born in 1996 to parents who practiced Islam voluntarily. Respondents were present at the court knowing they were born into an Islamic family, according to Section 2 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) Act 1993. Firuz added that the documents also confirm Shehzad's adherence to Islam from a legal standpoint.

The case is deemed to fall under the Syariah Court's jurisdiction as it involves apostasy from Islam. The MAIWP and the government argued that a mother who is Muslim cannot convert her Muslim child to Sikhism. The government further stated that Shehzad declared himself as Muslim when applying for a national identity card. Last year, the Federal Court dismissed the MAIWP and government's appeal to overturn Shehzad's case, citing the existence of a legal issue that had been resolved through a full trial.

However, at the Syariah Court, MAIWP attorney Ahmad Kamal Abu Bakar, supported by Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir, argued that the civil suit was not maintainable and should be dismissed. He pointed out that remedying Shehzad's situation lies in the Syariah Court. Attorney for Shehzad, Sachpreetraj Singh, supported by Amanda Sonia Mathew, argued that a full trial is needed to determine whether Shehzad was ever a Muslim.

The lawyer said that the case is an ab initio challenge, meaning Shehzad's claim that he was never Muslim.