Ex-husband of Indira Gandhi committed for contempt over custody case, arrest warrant issued

IPOH: Mohd Rizduan Abdullah, the Muslim-convert former husband of kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi, has been committed for contempt by the High Court here for failing to return their youngest child to the mother.

Justice Lee Swee Seng, who presided over contempt proceedings filed by Indira Gandhi to compel Mohd Ridzuan to hand over the child, also issued a warrant of arrest against the ex-husband.

"Execution of the warrant order is, however, suspended until the child, Prasana Diksa, is produced at the office of the mother's solicitors, Kula & Associates.

"The respondent has until 12pm on June 6 to do so," Justice Lee said in his close to three-hour judgment on Friday.

He also ordered the respondent, who was formerly known as K. Patmanathan, to pay RM15,000 as cost for proceedings and another RM5,000 as recovery cost.

In April 2009, Mohd Ridzuan had taken away Prasana Diksa, then 11 months old, and converted the child and her two siblings - Tevi Darsiny, then 12, and Karan Dinish, then 11 - to Islam.

The High Court later granted Indira Gandhi full custody of all three children and on March 11, 2010, Mohd Ridzuan was ordered to return Prasana Diksa to the mother.

Mohd Ridzuan repeatedly failed to appear in court as well as to produce the child despite repeated orders by the court to do so, prompting Indira Gandhi to file contempt proceedings against her ex-husband.