Indira Gandhi. Nope, not the deceased PM of India, but our own local famous person.

The two news below was reported way back in May 2009.

News 1: From Malaysiakini:

The kindergarden teacher who is embroiled in a legal battle to get custody of her one-year-old daughter from her converted husband, has finally reached an agreement at the High Court today which includes visiting rights to see her child.

MCPX

The agreement was reached after 150 minutes of proposing and counter proposing in the chambers of High Court 1 in Ipoh.

Indira Gandhi (left), 34, appeared relieved after the agreement was stitched with her estranged husband Mohd Ridwan Abdullah before judge Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim in his chambers this afternoon.

However, Ridwan did not appear in court today. He was represented by a legal team of three lawyers led by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, while Indira was represented by six lawyers led by Augustine Anthony.

Meanwhile, Perak Bar Council president T Shan held a watching brief for the legal body.

Temporary custody until court hearing

The court was to make a decision today on the contempt proceedings brought against Ridwan for the evasion of custody order dated April 24.

However, a compromise was reached between the two sides and a deal was struck whereby Indra will have temporary custody of her two older children – Tevidarsiny,12, and Karaudinish,11 – while Ridwan will have temporary custody of Prasana Diksa pending the Aug 20 court hearing on custody.

The agreement also states that the two older children will attend school without any interference from their father. Both Indra and Ridwan have visiting rights to see their respective children every fortnight at a place and time to be fixed later.

“I am so relieved that my two months of agonising wait for Prasana has come to a successful temporary agreement,” Indira told journalists outside the court.

When asked about the whereabouts of her husband who was reportedly to be in Singapore, she said, “I do not know but I received a mobile call from him during the court proceedings and he verbally abused me.”

Members of Muslim organisations as well as officials from the Perak Religious Department were seen in full force at the court today.

Their presence appeared to unnerve Indira’s family members and friends, who were clearly outnumbered by them.

News 2: The Star.

IPOH: After more than a month of separation, M. Indira Gandhi may finally see her one-year-old daughter within the next two weeks.

This came about after a High Court here Thursday agreed that the welfare of Indira’s three children should take precedence over the kindergarten teacher’s custody battle with her Muslim convert husband.

As such, although the interim custody order granted to Indira by another court on April 24 was still stayed, Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim agreed in chambers to a settlement proposed by opposing counsels to allow both parents visitation rights with their children.

According to Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdullah, counsel for Indira’s husband Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah (formerly K. Patmanathan), the settlement permitted both parties to see their children at least once every two weeks.

Currently, the two older children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, and Karan Dinish, 11, reside with their mother while the youngest, Prasana Diksa, stays with the father.

“In the interim, the parties have worked out a situation in which status quo is preserved for the time being, until the court has the chance to listen to full arguments on the main application by Indira’s for custody.

”This means that the two older children remain with their mother and the youngest with her father but both parties can meet once every two weeks until the matter is disposed of in court,” said Mohamed Haniff, when met outside the courtroom here.

He added that terms of the settlement were not strict and would be discussed by solicitors from time to time.

Mohamed Haniff also said that the settlement was proposed to give respect to the two disputing parents and to be fair to the children.

As such, he said Indira’s counsels had also withdrawn their earlier contempt proceedings initiated against Mohd Ridzuan for failure to adhere to April 24’s interim custody order.

Justice Wan Afrah set July 20 to hear submissions on Indira’s main application for custody and Mohd Ridzuan’s application to set aside the interim custody order on grounds that the civil court had no jurisdiction to decide on the matter.

Indira’s counsel Augustine Anthony said that he was pleased with the new arrangement for at the very least, it gave Indira a chance to visit her daughter.

Since the 34-year-old was granted an interim custody on all three of her children, she had embarked on a wild goose chase across the city to locate her estranged husband and youngest daughter.

Despite police intervention and the distribution of over 5,000 posters bearing the faces of her husband and child, Indira still failed to find the two and has not seen them since last month.

And in August last year, this news appeared:

A woman challenging the conversion of her three children to Islam by their Muslim-convert father is seeking leave for a judicial review by the High Court here to quash two decisions handed down by the Syariah Court.

M. Indira Gandhi filed separate applications in the civil court earlier this month to quash her children’s conversion, her lawyer M. Kulase-garan said.

She is also seeking a judicial review to quash the Syariah Court’s decision to grant custody of her children to their father, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah (formerly K. Patmanathan).

“The court has ordered the husband’s lawyer to file submissions on whether the High Court of Malaya has jurisdiction over the matter.

“If the High Court decides that it has no power, then it will not decide on all other issues,” Kulasegaran told reporters outside the High Court here yesterday.

He added that the High Court had set Sept 4 and Oct 20 to hear the submissions on each of the respective applications.

Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi’s application for custody of her children has been fixed for hearing on Nov 2.

Kulasegaran said that Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim, who heard the matter in chambers, expressed concern that the children had not seen their mother for months.

Today, this happened:

The Ipoh High Court has ordered both parents embroiled in a custody battle over three children to produce them in court when the hearing continues on Jan 22.

Kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi, 35, has filed three applications seeking custody of sons Tevidarsiny, 13 and Karan Dinish,12, and daughter Prasana Diksa, 2, following the conversion of her husband to Islam.

In April 2009, she claimed that her estranged husband Mohd Ridwan Abdullah, 41, previously known as K Patmanathan, had converted himself and the children without her knowledge.

Indira Gandhi also wants the conversion certificates of her children quashed, alongside the Syariah Court’s order awarding custody of the children to Mohd Ridwan.

Today, Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim heard arguments in chambers for about 90 minutes from lawyers representing Indira Gandhi before issuing the order for the children to be produced in court.

Indira Gandhi is represented by four lawyers – K Shanmuga, M Kulasegaran, D Laithaa and Sahri Azzat – while Mohd Ridwan is represented by three lawyers.

Both parents should have a say

Shanmuga submitted that both parents should have a say in the conversion of children below the age of 18, as stated in Section 5 of the Guardinship of Infants Act 1961.

Mohd Ridwan has been in hiding with the youngest child since Indira Gandhi sought police help to get the girl back. The elder children are with the mother.

Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim had, on April 24 last year, granted Mohd Ridwan temporary custody of all three children.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with the civil and the Syariah courts operating side by side on matters of family law.

Non-Muslims have previously claimed that they do not get a fair hearing when such cases are disposed of through the Syariah court system, as they have no locus standi to plead their cause.

Both Indira Gandhi and Mohd Ridwan were present at the court today.

So, its going to be one year, and still no solution in sight for the poor mother. ONE YEAR!