KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — A court dispute between the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and a Hindu family was settled amicably today, after both agreed that schoolteacher B. Raguram — who had been buried in a Hindu funeral — would not be reburied according to Islamic rites.

At the Court of Appeal today, a consent order which had been agreed to by Mais, the Selangor government and Raguram’s Hindu family was read out and recorded by the court:

Here is a summary of the seven terms which they agreed to:

The remaining two terms are that there will be no court order made for legal costs in this case, and that parties are free to apply to the court for other appropriate orders.

The consent order was read out this morning by lawyer Surendra Ananth, who represented the Hindu family.

Lawyer Arham Rahimy Hariri who represented Mais confirmed that his client is agreeable to the terms of the consent order, while Selangor assistant legal adviser Khairul Nizam Abu Bakar confirmed to the Court of Appeal that the Shariah High Court in Shah Alam and the Selangor government had agreed on the terms in the consent order.

In order for the consent order to be recorded, the case had to be withdrawn and struck out first, as part of court procedures.

Court of Appeal judge Datuk S. Nantha Balan, who chaired the panel, then said the appeal has been struck out and recorded the consent order, before thanking all involved in the case for settling it amicably.

“So we judges unanimously express our thanks for the cooperation and tolerance by both sides, especially Mais and the Selangor government, and also to the lawyers who had worked to achieve this settlement.

“There is nothing that is impossible to achieve. An appeal which involves this sensational issue can also be settled well. May this settlement be an aspiration for parties in the future to always prioritise settlement without confrontations that can be avoided. And please thank your clients respectively,” the judge said during the court proceedings over the video-conferencing platform Zoom.

The two other judges on the Court of Appeal’s panel today are Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and Datuk Choo Kah Sing.

Lawyers Rajo Kuppan and Kee Hui Yee also appeared today for the Hindu family, while lawyer Mohamad Ariffudin Hanafi also appeared for Mais.

Today was initially scheduled for the continued hearing of the family's appeal in the matter, but the recording of the consent order brings an end to the four-year-old court dispute between Mais and the Hindu family.

Raguram was alleged to be a Muslim convert, but his Hindu family had said he was a Hindu at his death and that he was forced to Islam, while Mais had claimed he had converted willingly.

Raguram was never registered with Islamic authorities as a Muslim and was also never issued a certificate of conversion to Islam, and his identity card states he is a Hindu.

Following Raguram's burial in a Hindu funeral on March 15, 2020, Mais had the next day filed court proceedings in the Shariah High Court in Shah Alam.

On May 21, 2020, the Shariah High Court in Shah Alam had issued a court order, declaring that Raguram had converted to Islam on November 8, 2012 and that he was a Muslim at the time of his death, and also ordering that Mais be allowed to take necessary action to register and administer Raguram’s purported conversion and burial of his body in accordance with Islamic rites.

It is this Shariah High Court order which all agreed today to not enforce. This means Raguram will not be reburied.

The Hindu widow and their two children then filed a court challenge in August 2020 in the civil High Court against the Shariah court order. The High Court in November 2022 dismissed the family’s challenge and their appeal is the one that was struck out today for the Court of Appeal to record the consent order.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/07/03/in-court-mais-and-hindu-family-agree-man-wont-be-reburied-according-to-islamic-rites-next-of-kin-to-inherit-assets/142566