SC to examine whether Muslims can be governed by succession law instead of Shariat
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a contentious issue whether Muslims can be governed by secular Indian succession law to deal with ancestral properties instead of Shariat without renouncing their faith.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of a plea filed by Naushad K K, a resident of Kerala's Thrissur district, that he wanted to be governed by the succession law instead of Shariat without leaving Islam as his religion.
It issued notices to the Centre and the Kerala government on his plea and asked them to file their responses.
The bench ordered tagging of the plea with similar pending cases on the issue.
Earlier in April last year, the bench had agreed to consider a plea of Safiya P M, a resident of Alappuzha and general secretary of 'Ex-Muslims of Kerala’, that she is a non-believer Muslim woman and wanted to deal with her ancestral properties properties under the succession laws instead of Shariat.
Another similar plea filed in 2016 by ‘Quran Sunnat Society’ is also pending in the top court which will now hear the three petitions together.
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IMF approves USD 206 million emergency funding for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's recovery
Colombo (PTI): The IMF has approved an emergency funding of USD 206 million under its rapid finance instrument to help Sri Lanka “address the urgent needs arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah and preserve macroeconomic stability”.
The cyclone caused widespread destruction in the island nation and left over 643 people dead.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs.
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The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the rapid finance instrument will help address these pressures, it said.
The IMF added that the cyclone devastation hit when the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s USD 2.9 billion bailout was nearing completion.
“Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how an IMF-supported programme can best support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts while preserving objectives and policy priorities, the Fifth Review has been deferred," it said.
"An IMF mission team will visit Sri Lanka in early 2026 to resume discussions,” it added.
The 48-month extended fund facility deal with the IMF in March 2023 carried hard reforms to Sri Lanka's welfare-based governance.
It was signed after Sri Lanka plunged into an unprecedented economic meltdown with its first-ever sovereign default.
Several hours before the IMF decision, the parliament here approved without a vote a supplementary estimate of LKR 500 billion, which the government said was required to restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.
