KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): The Federal Court has set July 6 to hear single mum Loh Siew Hong's leave application to challenge the appellate court's decision allowing the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) to intervene in her divorce proceedings.
This comes after case management before apex court deputy registrar Rasidah Roslee on Thursday (April 6).
Loh's counsel J Gunamalar and Danial Farhan Zainul Rijal, who appeared for MAIPs during the case management, both confirmed the matter with The Edge when contacted.
Loh is appealing against the Court of Appeal decision last February, where the state religious body's appeal to intervene in the custody order granted to Loh over her three children was allowed, making the religious council a respondent in the matter. She filed her leave application in early March.
The three-member panel said that based on Order 15 Rule 6 of the Rules of Court 2012 and Section 96 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, it would confer that MAIPs had a legal right to intervene.
In June last year, High Court judge Evrol Mariette Peters dismissed the religious body's leave application to intervene, finding that MAIPs had failed to show that it was an interested party in relation to the children.
In civil cases, litigants must first obtain leave (permission) before proceeding with appeals to the apex court.
MAIPs has since filed its application to vary the custody order in Loh's case involving all three of the underage children who were converted to Islam by Loh's ex-husband without her consent.
Among others, it is seeking supervised access to the children twice a week for guidance and basic religious education, and to take them to observe Islamic celebrations.
It has also sent a letter to the High Court, seeking to recuse Peters from presiding over its application to intervene.
In the letter, MAIPs claimed that Peters was mistaken in her judgement when she touched on the case's merits, namely the children's religion and the variation order, which was not in the High Court then.
Peters said she would take this into consideration, and will deliver her decision on the matter on April 19.
Separately on Wednesday, Peters also imposed a RM20,000 fine on Loh's ex-husband Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy for contempt of court. Should he fail to pay the fine within 14 days, he faces 14 days' imprisonment.
The High Court judge found that Muhammad Nagahswaran had interfered with the administration of justice.
Besides this, Loh has also filed a judicial review challenging the unilateral conversion of her children. High Court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh has set May 11 to deliver his decision.