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June 22 for SIS leave application to challenge Selangor shariah law

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A Federal Court judge will hear the application as required under Article 4 (4) of the Federal Constitution, says lawyer Surendra Ananth.

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Free Malaysia Today
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has fixed June 22 to hear a leave application by women’s rights group Sisters in Islam (SIS) seeking a declaration that a Selangor enactment allowing the state Shariah High Court to review fatwas issued by the state religious authorities is unconstitutional.

Lawyer for SIS Forum (Malaysia) Surendra Ananth said a Federal Court judge would hear the application as required under Article 4 (4) of the Federal Constitution.

He said the date was decided today after case management before deputy registrar Azniza Mohd Ali.

The applicants have filed the challenge under Article 4 (3) on grounds that the state legislature cannot pass Section 66A of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.

Section 66A states that shariah high courts in Selangor have the jurisdiction to hear judicial reviews against the decisions of state religious councils or committees.

However, the applicant argued that any judicial review of a law passed by Parliament and state assemblies could only be heard before a civil high court.

SIS Forum filed the separate application in the Federal Court on Jan 21 after a High Court in Kuala Lumpur last year dismissed its judicial review application against a Selangor religious authority’s fatwa labelling the group as deviant.

Citing Section 66A, judge Nordin Hassan ruled that it was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Selangor Shariah Court to determine legal challenges against a fatwa issued by a state religious committee.

Surenthra said an appeal was pending in the Court of Appeal to reverse Nordin’s decision.

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