This is the right of Parliament : SC

Demand for inclusion of Muslims in Indian Succession Act, 1925

New Delhi – The case revolves around a petition filed by Safiya PM who argued that Muslims, particularly those who renounce their faith, should have the option to be governed by the Indian Succession Act. The Union government on Thursday submitted in the Supreme Court that the Indian Succession Act, 1925, cannot not extend to Muslims in view of the position reinforced by the statute’s own provisions, while adding that it is only for Parliament to consider whether the legal regime should be changed.

“The petitioner, a Muslim, seeks to be covered under the Indian Succession Act but that is not possible in view of the clear language of the Act itself,” Bhati told the bench, which included Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The ASG emphasised: “Only Parliament can take a call on this.”

The case revolves around a petition filed by Safiya PM, a Muslim woman from Kerala who is the president of an organisation for former Muslims. Safiya argued that Muslims, particularly those who renounce their faith, should have the option to be governed by the Indian Succession Act instead of Muslim Personal Law, which presently dictates matters of inheritance and succession for Muslims.