Today, On 17th April, The Supreme Court agreed to examine if Muslims can be governed by the secular Indian Succession Act for ancestral property matters instead of Shariat law. A Bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna took note of a Kerala resident’s plea seeking such governance without renouncing Islam.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to review a significant issue regarding whether Muslims can be governed by secular Indian succession laws for ancestral properties instead of Shariat, without renouncing their faith.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar acknowledged a plea from Naushad K K, a resident of Thrissur district in Kerala, who expressed a desire to follow the succession law instead of Shariat while remaining a practicing Muslim.
The court issued notices to both the Centre and the Kerala government, requesting their responses, and ordered the plea to be linked with similar pending cases on the matter.
Earlier, in April of the previous year, the bench had agreed to consider a plea from Safiya P M, a resident of Alappuzha and secretary of ‘Ex-Muslims of Kerala’, who sought to manage her ancestral properties under secular succession laws rather than Shariat, identifying as a non-believer Muslim woman.
Additionally, a related petition submitted in 2016 by the ‘Quran Sunnat Society’ is also pending in the Supreme Court, which will now hear all three petitions together.
Also Read: [Shariat Showdown] Kerala HC Evaluates Handshakes Between Muslim Women and Men
Legal Provisions Involved:
- Indian Succession Act, 1925: A secular law governing intestate (without a will) and testamentary (with a will) succession, typically applicable to Christians, Parsis, and others not covered by personal laws.
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937: Makes it mandatory for Muslims in India to be governed by Islamic law in matters of succession, marriage, divorce, maintenance, etc.
- Article 25 of the Constitution: Grants freedom of religion but also permits the State to regulate secular aspects of religious practices.
- Article 14: Ensures equality before law.
- Article 21: Guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.
The petitioner argued that being bound by personal law based solely on religion violates the fundamental right to equality (Article 14), freedom of religion (Article 25), and right to life and personal liberty (Article 21) under the Indian Constitution.
The key legal issue is whether Muslims can voluntarily opt out of personal law for inheritance matters without having to convert or renounce Islam.