Can Muslims opt for secular succession law instead of Shariat? SC to examine

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine the issue whether a person born as a Muslim can be governed by the Indian Succession Act, a secular law, instead of Shariat even if he/she has not renounced Islam.

Acting on a petition filed by Naushad KK, a resident of Thrissur district in Kerala, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna issued notices to the Centre and the Kerala Government and ordered that the petition be clubbed with similar cases on the issue pending before the top court.

Naushad submitted that he wanted to be governed by the succession law instead of Shariat without renouncing Islam.

A similar petition filed in 2016 by Quran Sunnat Society is already pending before the top court.

In January, the top court had agreed to examine if a person born as a Muslim could be governed by the Indian Succession Act, instead of Shariat, if he/she quits Islam.

It had asked the Centre to spell out its stand on the contentious issue raised in a petition filed by Safiya PM, a resident of Alappuzha in Kerala.

“The petitioner was born Muslim. She says she does not believe in Shariat and she thinks it is a regressive law,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told a Bench led by CJI Khanna, noting that the petition raised an interesting question.

“This will run across faiths. You will have to file a counter affidavit," the Bench had told Mehta.

Safiya, general secretary of ‘Ex-Muslims of Kerala’, had contended that being a non-believer Muslim, she wanted to be governed by the secular Indian succession law to deal with her ancestral property rights, instead of Shariat.

The Supreme Court had on April 29, 2024, asked the Centre and the Kerala Government to respond to her petition. It had also asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to appoint a law officer to assist it.

Maintaining that she had not officially left Islam, Safiya said she was a non-believer and wanted enforcement of her fundamental right to religion under Article 25. She asserted that the fundamental right to religion must include “the right not to believe" also.

She has sought a 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 i.e. the Indian Succession Act-1925 both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession".

Safiya submitted that Muslim women were entitled to one-third share in the property under the Shariat laws. She said a declaration that the petitioner was not governed by the Muslim personal law has to come from the court; otherwise her father will not be able to give more than one-third of the property.

India