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A declaration has been sought that the persons who do not want to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law must be allowed to be governed by the secular law of the country, viz, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession
The Supreme Court of India on Monday has issued notice in a plea seeking a declaration that a born but non-believer Muslim, has a choice to seek a declaration from the ‘prescribed authority’ under Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, that they may no longer be governed by the Sharia law.
Filed by one Safiya PM, the petition further seeks a declaration that a non-believer Muslim will be governed by the provisions of Indian Succession Act, 1925, in the case of intestate and testamentary succession for her lineal descendant.
Safiya, who has challenged the inheritance laws, told the CJI led bench today, "There is no provision if we do not want to be governed by sharia law. My father is a non-believer and he does not want to follow this..".
"We cannot give declarations on personal laws like this...you can challenge shariat law and we will deal with it. How can we direct that a non-believer be governed by Indian succession act? this cannot be done under Article 32...", the bench observed at the outset.
It has thus been sought that even after leaving Islam and obtaining a ‘no religion, no caste’ certificate from the authority, Safiya shall be entitled to inherit her parental property.
Court was told today that the petitioner, a born Muslim woman to a non-practising Muslim father, who has not officially left the religion, was facing the peculiar problem in protecting her precious civil rights.
"As per Sharia law, the person who leaves her faith in Islam, will be ousted from her community and thereafter she is not entitled for any inheritance right in her parental property. Further, the Petitioner is apprehensive about the application of the law in the case of her lineal descendant, her only daughter, if the Petitioner officially leaves the religion..", the plea adds.
It is Safiya's case for a declaration that she shall not be governed by Muslim Personal Law for any of the matters listed in section 2 or 3 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, but there is no provision either in the Act or in the Rules wherein she can obtain such a certificate. This is a clear vacuum in the statute which can be plugged by judicial interpretation, she has said.
Case Title: Safiya PM vs. Union of India
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