
KOCHI: Safiya P M has been swamped with phone calls for the past couple of days ever since the Supreme Court sought the Union government’s view on her petition seeking to declare that people who renounced religion be governed by secular laws in matters of succession.
A resident of Alappuzha, Safiya had moved the SC stating that she is a non-believer and hence should be governed by the Indian Succession Act concerning inheritance instead of the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia law). Activists term her plea as a crucial step in the fight for fundamental rights of people who want the state to recognise their choice of ‘No Religion, No Caste’ as their identity.
Safiya said the absence of any provision for inheritance rights of people who give up religion puts them in a dangerous situation as neither the secular laws nor religious laws would protect them. As per Sharia law, one who has left Islam will lose all inheritance rights.
“Why should religion have a bearing on a person who renounced faith,” she asks. “It is an issue affecting the lives of all women in the country, but unfortunately no one has expressed willingness to implead in the case,” she said.
Safiya says discrimination in inheritance forced her to move SC
“It is a matter of equality assured under the Constitution. I have only one daughter and as per Sharia law, she is entitled to only 50% of my property. But I want to give my entire property to her. My daughter must inherit my property as per the Indian Succession Act, 1925,” said Safiya.
“I am a single mother who got divorced 20 years ago and my daughter is 25. I relinquished the religion and joined the Ex-Muslims of Kerala movement four years ago. Being born to Muslim parents, my religion was mentioned as Islam in the SSLC book. But that was not my choice. I have given up the religion and my father is not a practicing Muslim,” said Safiya, who is general secretary of Ex-Muslims of Kerala.
“The Muslim Personal Law is discriminatory against women and it violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. A person who has relinquished the religion should be governed by the Indian Succession Act in case of inheritance. But, though I have renounced the religion, I am still governed by the Muslim Personal Law, under which a woman will get only half of the share entitled to her male counterpart. My only daughter can inherit just half of my wealth and the rest will go to my brother. This forced me to approach the apex court,” she explained.
Recently, an RTI application had revealed that more Muslims are registering their marriage under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act to overcome the discriminatory provisions of the Muslim inheritance law. “Registering marriage under the Special Marriage Act will not help avoid the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law,” says Safiya.
“As per Section 29 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the provisions for intestate succession, are not applicable to Muslims. Section 58 of the Act also says the provisions with regard to testamentary succession are not applicable to Muslims. We have submitted a petition before the apex court seeking to declare both these exclusions in Act, as unconstitutional, as it is violative of Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution,” she said.