Court orders IGP to arrest Ridhuan, retrieve child

 

The High Court in Ipoh today directed Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest K Pathmanathan @ Muhd Ridhuan Abdullah and retrieve six-year-old Prasana Diksa within seven days of the court order.

High Court judge Lee Swee Seng granted the order of mandamus (order to compel) the IGP to respond and make the arrest.

“It is hoped that with the mandamus order and the full resources of the state at the IGP's disposal, Indira will be able to see her child perhaps even before Malaysia Day, which is next Tuesday,” Justice Lee said.

The people have an expectation that the IGP, being the chief law enforcer, would execute his duties fairly and firmly, without fear or favour and that as we celebrate Malaysia Day, we can yet affirm that we are a country where the rule of law prevails, that no one is above the law, and that the court, as established under the constitution,does not act in vain,” he said.

The judge also noted that the Ipoh Syariah High Court had issued no order to execute the order on the police.

Justice Lee also refused senior federal counsel Nor Hisham Ismail’s application for a stay order.

The Ipoh hearing is the result of a review application filed by M Indira Gandhi in June to compel IGP Khalid to arrest Ridhuan and hand Prasana Diksa back to her mother.

The IGP or his representative had been ordered to answer to the High Court in Ipoh today to explain why he has not been able to make the arrest till now.

Although Justice Lee hopes that the order would be complied with before Tuesday, one of the orders allowed demands that the IGP to do so within seven days of the court order.

This was tweeted by one of the lawyers appearing for kindergarten teacher Indira, M Kulasegaran, in this unilateral conversion and custodial dispute.

It was reported on Wednesday that the Court of Appeal had refused to grant Ridhuan an extension of time to file his Memorandum of Appeal after it allowed an objection filed by Indira's lawyers that the contemptor (Ridhuan) cannot be heard in court.

Ridhuan can no more set contempt order aside

With Wednesday’s decision, Ridhuan has exhausted all his avenues to set aside the contempt order the High Court in Ipoh issued on May 30 to return Prasana Diksa.

Khalid had previously stated that the police could not comply with the civil court order as there is an Ipoh Syariah court order which granted custody to Ridhuan.

He had proposed “a middle path” in inter-faith custody disputes by placing the child in welfare centres until the situation is resolved by the courts.

Prasana Diksa was taken by Ridhuan in 2009, when she was just 11 months old when he converted to Islam, and later he converted the child to Islam.

Indira Gandhi and Ridhuan have two other children, a son and a daughter who are with the mother.The couple was married in 1993 according to Hindu rites.

Kulasegaran, who appeared with lawyers Aston Paiva, and A Sivanesan, expressed hope outside the court that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would direct Khalid to carry out his obligations and duties.

He said the continued refusal of IGP Khalid to enforce the arrest warrant is misconceived and directly challenges the judicial process.

"To the best of my knowledge the open defiance by the IGP to enforce court orders is the first in the Commonwealth.

“The action of the IGP is uncalled for, unnecessary and conveys a wrong message to citizens. I am perplexed by the continuous stubbornness of the IGP in his refusal to enforce the court orders,” he said.

Kulasegaran also urged Najib to intervene and direct the IGP to carry out his obligations as set out in the Police Act.

He said in short the IGP is plainly flouting the law and who else other than the PM can order him to adhere to the court orders.

Failing this the people will lose confidence in the democratic institutions and process of the country,” he said.

Failing this the people will lose confidence in the democratic institutions and process of the country,” he said.

Kulasegaran said although the order on the IGP is for seven days, it the court will take sometime to produce it , technically it would take two weeks.

Indira Gandhi's case differs from that of S Deepa, in that her husband N Viran @ Izwan Abdullah, has a Seremban Syariah High Court order compelling the police to help retrieve his two children.

Ridhuan, despite given custody by the Ipoh Syariah High Court, faces no such order.