PUTRAJAYA (Aug 24): After almost two decades of custody battle, followed by legal bids to track down her youngest daughter, M Indira Gandhi only has one wish: to lay eyes on her child.
"I hope, if she is seeing this, just come and see me. With whom she wants to be with is not an issue. I just want to see her," the tearful mother told the press on Monday following a decision on one of her latest court cases to locate Prasana Diksa.
The child was only 11 months old when she was taken in a unilateral custody battle. Prasana is 18 years old now.
"All these years, we are hoping police will do better, [we have gone] up and down the courts.
"I hope she can contact me, because that is the only way. I have gone to the court [from the time she was an] 11-month baby, and now she is 18. I have gone to the police, still can't get anything. So, my only hope is for the public or she herself contacts me," Indira said.
She added that it was unbearable to shoulder the reality that if she were to see her daughter on the streets today, she will not be able to recognise her.
“Even if I see her outside and she doesn't approach (tegur) me, I also don't know how she looks like. It is really sad for a mother — not knowing her own child. It’s unbearable," she said.
Indira was the central figure in the 2018 landmark decision regarding the unilateral conversion of her children by her Muslim-convert ex-husband.
The Federal Court unanimously said that in Indira’s case, the English version of the word "parent" prevails over the Malay translation of "ibu atau bapa" (mother or father).
The apex court subsequently ruled in Indira's favour, saying that it is unlawful for a parent to unilaterally convert the children to Islam without seeking the other parent’s consent.
A warrant of committal was issued by the court in 2016 to arrest her ex-husband for contempt of court for refusing to hand over custody of the child to Indira. However, it remains unexecuted to this day.
The child’s whereabouts remain unknown to her mother.
Indira was in court on Monday for the Court of Appeal (COA)'s decision on her nonfeasance suit against the police.
She was suing then-inspector general of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, the police, the government, and the home minister, for not acting to seek her ex-husband K Pathmanathan @ Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah and their daughter.
In the October 2020 suit, Indira was seeking RM100 million in damages.
The COA dismissed her appeal on the grounds that Indira couldn’t prove the necessary link between the defendants’ actions and the damages she claimed in the suit.
The panel, however, cautioned that Monday's decision does not mean that the police are immune from responsibility, nor does it mean that ignoring lawful court orders and warrants has no legal consequences.
Speaking to the press following the decision, Indira also said that the suit was never about the compensation, but an effort to locate her daughter.
She said that she will consult her lawyers on whether to appeal against Monday's decision.