The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central government to respond to a plea by a Kerala-based non-believing Muslim woman seeking a declaration that in the matters of inheritance, a person who does not want to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia Law) must be allowed to be governed by the country’s secular law – the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice K V Viswanathan asked the Central government to file a response on the plea within four weeks and posted the matter for hearing in the first week of May.

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During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, told the bench that the petitioner has only one daughter and wants to bequeath the entire property to her daughter, but Shariat law allows only 50 per cent of the bequeath. “She (the petitioner Safiya P M) wants the benefit of the Indian Succession Act, the secular law,” the solicitor general said.

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said there were issues to be addressed and even referred to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. He pointed to certain restrictions on inheritance even under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, in the event of a Hindu converting to another religion.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, suggesting a way out to overcome the hurdles in the succession laws, said that a person can execute a will.

While agreeing to examine the plea seeking declaration 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., the Supreme Court on April 29, 2024, had issued notice to the central and Kerala governments.

While issuing notice, a bench of then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, on April 29, 2024, requested Attorney General R Venkataramani to nominate a law officer, who can assist the court in the adjudication of the issue.

The petitioner – a Kerala-based Muslim woman Safiya PM – has stated that she is a non-believer Muslim and hence should be governed by the Indian Succession Act 1925 with respect to inheritance instead of the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia Law). She said her father too is a non-practising Muslim.

As per the Sharia law, a Muslim, who renounces faith in Islam, will be ousted from the community and thereafter she is not entitled to any inheritance right in her parental property, says the petition by Safiya.

The petition says that as per Sharia law, a Muslim cannot bequeath more than 1/3rd of his properties by way of Will.

Petitioner Safiya has stated that her father cannot bequeath more than 1/3d of his property to her and the remaining 2/3rd will go to her brother who was suffering from Down’s syndrome – a genetic condition caused by an extra Chromosome.

She further stated that she has a daughter and after the petitioner’s (Safiya) death, the entire property will not go to her daughter as her father’s brothers will also get a claim.

“The absence of any provision for having the inheritance rights, even after leaving the religion, puts the citizen in a dangerous situation as neither the secular laws of the State nor the religious laws would protect her. As per Sharia law, one who has left Islam will lose her inheritance rights. It is the prayer of the petitioner that she should be governed by the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925,” the petition states.

It further said that petitioner strongly believes that the practices under the Sharia law are highly discriminatory towards Muslim women and hence it violates the fundamental Rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.