The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Union government’s response on a petition filed by a Muslim woman seeking permission to be governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, instead of Shariat.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K V Viswanathan directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, to file an affidavit within four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing in the week beginning on May 5.
The order was passed on a petition filed by Safiya PM, General Secretary of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, seeking a declaration that persons not wanting to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law must be allowed to be governed by the secular law of the country – the Indian Succession Act, 1925, both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession.
The petitioner contended that she was facing a peculiar problem in protecting her precious civil rights since she was born as a Muslim woman to a non-practising Muslim father, who had not officially left the religion.
In India, any person born as a Muslim is governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
The petitioner further sought declaration that she should not be governed by the Muslim Personal Law for any of the matters listed in Sections 2 or 3 of Shariat.
Noting that there was no provision either in the Act or in the Rules, wherein she could obtain such a certificate, the woman approachd the Apex Court.
The petitioner submitted that as per Sharia law, a person leaving his/her faith in Islam would be ousted from the community. This meant the person would not be entitled for any inheritance right in her parental property.
She contended that she was apprehensive about the application of law in the case of her lineal descendant, her only daughter, if she officially left her religion.