The High Court today dismissed the legal challenge by Sisters in Islam against an edict (fatwa) declaring it as deviant, ruling that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

Justice Hanipah Farikullah said this when delivering her decision on the judicial review case between SIS and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais).

"I am of the view that this court does not have the jurisdiction to grant relief sought by plaintiffs in this judicial review.

"To my mind, that is the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court," she said.

Both parties had submitted their written submissions and Hanipah proceeded to deliver her oral judgment after no objections were raised by both sides.

In delivering her decision, Hanipah said the fatwa, as the main subject of the legal challenge, was a matter that fell under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

She said she also used her discretion to not award costs to any party, as the case was a matter of public interest.

Counsel for SIS, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, later told reporters that his clients were considering their options to appeal against the decision.

"From our standpoint, it is perfectly understandable that the court will take different positions.

“As I have said, this argument has not been taken up before. We need to clarify the impact of the fatwa,” he said.

He also said this was because the fatwa under the current legal system was seen as a form of subsidiary legislation with the force of law.

SIS filed the judicial review application on Oct 31, 2014, and was granted leave to commence with the case in December the same year.

The application was to challenge Mais' fatwa declaring the organisation as deviating from Islamic teachings on grounds that it adopts liberalism and pluralism ideologies.

The group, among others, applied for a declaration that the decision of the Selangor Fatwa Committee and Mais was ultra vires to Article 10, 11, 74 and the Ninth Schedule List I and I of the Federal Constitution.