The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge filed by former kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi and 13 others against Islamic laws allowing unilateral conversion of children to Islam in six states and a federal territory.
The lawsuit, filed in March 2023, sought to invalidate provisions in the Islamic enactments of Johor, Perlis, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Melaka, and the Federal Territories, arguing that they were inconsistent with the Federal Constitution.
High Court Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman ruled that the applicants failed to demonstrate that they were directly affected by the laws in question. The court also held that the group did not have sufficient legal standing (locus standi) to bring the challenge.
The applicants had argued that the state laws conflicted with Article 12 and Article 4 of the Federal Constitution, and were unconstitutional in light of a 2018 Federal Court decision in the Indira Gandhi case, which held that both parents must consent to the religious conversion of children under 18.
However, the court found that even on public interest grounds, the applicants did not have the legal standing required to proceed with the case and therefore struck out the application.
