The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked for the Centre's stand on a Muslim woman's plea seeking to be governed by the Indian succession law instead of Shariat.
The plea of Safiya P M, general secretary of "Ex-Muslims of Kerala", and hailing from Alappuzha, came up before a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the plea raised an interesting question.
"The petitioner lady is a born Muslim. She says she does not believe in Shariat and she thinks it is a regressive law," he said.
"This will," observed the bench, "run across faith. You will have to file a counter affidavit."
Mehta sought three weeks to take instructions and place on record a counter affidavit.
The bench granted four weeks and said the matter would be heard in week beginning May 5.
On April 29 last year, the apex court sought responses from the Centre and the Kerala government on the plea.
The petitioner said though she has not officially left Islam, she was a non-believer and wanted enforcement of her fundamental right to religion under Article 25, saying it must include "the right not to believe" as well.
She also sought a declaration that the persons who didn't wish to be governed by Muslim personal law must be allowed to be governed by the "secular law of the country" -- the Indian Succession Act, 1925 -- both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession.
Safiya's plea, filed through advocate Prashant Padmnabhan, said Muslim women were entitled to one-third share in the property under the Shariat laws.
The lawyer said the declaration that the petitioner was not governed by the Muslim personal law had to come from the court, or else her father would not be able to give more than one-third of the property.
The top court had permitted Safiya to amend the petition suitably to challenge the Indian succession law and other provisions for excluding Muslims.
"Fundamental right to religion under Article 25 of the Constitution must include the right to believe or not to believe, as per the judgment of this in Indian Young Lawyers Association v. state of Kerala (Sabarimala case)... To have meaning for that right, the person who leaves her faith should not incur any disability or a disqualification in matters of inheritance or other important civil rights," the plea said.
Pointing out wide ramifications across the country, the plea urged the bench for an intervention.
It said the pending case in the Supreme Court was for all Muslim women but the present plea was for those who were born Muslim and wanted to leave the religion.
"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," the plea argued.
The petitioner expressed apprehension over the application of the law in the case of her lineal descendant, her only daughter, if she officially left her religion.
Seeking a declaration that the Muslim personal law shouldn't govern her for any of the matters listed in Section 2 or 3 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, she said, "But there is no provision either in the Act or in the rules wherein she can obtain such a certificate."
The plea said there was a "clear vacuum" in the statute which could be plugged by judicial interpretation.
"As of now, the petitioner will not be governed by the secular laws of the country, viz, the Indian Succession Act even if she officially gets a no-religion, no-caste certificate from any authority," said the plea.
The precious fundamental rights under Article 25 to practice or not to practise religion were made meaningless by the absence of such a protection from the State, it added.
© 2025