Court of Appeal strikes out man's appeal for custody of child

Free Malaysia Today

09-05-2025

The Court of Appeal struck out R Kannan's appeal on grounds that both the notice and memorandum of appeal were filed out of time.
PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal today struck out a man's appeal against a High Court order granting his wife sole custody of their four-year-old daughter.
A three-judge panel chaired by Justice Azizah Nawawi made the unanimous decision in favour of the respondent, V Thevitthra, 32, on grounds that the appeal brought by her estranged husband, R Kannan, 38, was procedurally defective.
'This is the court's unanimous decision. There have been multiple non-compliances with the rules. In fact, both the notice of appeal and the record of appeal were filed out of time, and the appellant did not file any application for an extension of time.
'We therefore allow the application for the appeal to be struck out,' said Justice Azizah.
The panel, which included Justices Azmi Ariffin and Alwi Wahab, also ordered Kannan to pay costs of RM10,000 to Thevitthra.
Earlier, counsel R Renuga, representing Thevitthra, submitted that the notice of appeal had been filed three days late, on June 19, 2024.
Renuga also said the appellant had failed to submit his memorandum of appeal within the 90-day timeframe stipulated by the rules of court.
In reply, the appellant's counsel, N Sreedhara, argued that the respondent had not suffered any prejudice from short delay. He said the delay had not resulted in a substantial miscarriage of justice.
'In fact, the respondent, in her affidavit in support of the notice of motion, did not explain what form of substantial miscarriage of justice she suffered as a result of the delay,' he said.
Sreedhara also attempted to explain the delay to the court and maintained that the appeal had merit as it concerned the custody of the child, who was currently in his client's care.
When asked by the bench to whom the High Court had awarded custody, Sreedhara replied that custody was granted to the mother.
Azizah: The High Court gave custody to the father or the mother?
Sreedhara: Custody to the mother.
Azizah: And the father took the child out of the country?
Sreedhara: Yes, before the order.
The Shah Alam High Court granted sole custody of the child, K Krisha, to the respondent on May 17 last year.
In 2023, Thevitthra was granted interim custody of the child, Krisha, amid ongoing divorce proceedings.
The court order allowed Kannan, who lived separately, to meet the girl in a public place twice a month for up to seven hours on each occasion.
During a visit in September 2023, Kannan drove off from a mall in Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang, taking the child with him.
Later that evening, Thevitthra received a text message from her husband saying they had 'gone to KL'.
She has not seen her daughter since.