The Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed M. Indira Gandhi’s appeal of her RM100 million nonfeasance suit against the police and government for failing to find her ex-husband K Pathmanathan and youngest daughter Prasana Diksa on August 24, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4]. Indira had sued the police and Home Ministry for allegedly failing to execute a 2016 court warrant to arrest Pathmanathan for contempt of court related to custody of Prasana, who was taken 18 years ago and remains missing [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Court found that Indira failed to prove the necessary causal link—that police omissions caused her loss or would likely have led to Pathmanathan’s arrest or recovery of Prasana [1, 2, 3, 4]. Court of Appeal judge Datuk Faizah Jamaluddin said, "Private law damages compensate for loss caused by an actionable wrong. They are not a freestanding response to unsatisfactory administrative performance. The respondents did not cause the original taking or the initial separation" [3]. She added, "We do not doubt the ongoing pain, anxiety, and sense of injustice experienced by the appellant. The requirement to prove causation does not diminish that suffering, but it defines the legal losses for which the court can hold defendants liable as a consequence of an actionable wrong" [4].
Pathmanathan, who converted his children to Islam in 2009, took Prasana when she was 11 months old. Immigration records showed his last official exit from Malaysia on March 19, 2014, with no admissible evidence of return [2, 3]. The Court pointed out material deficiencies in the police evidence regarding efforts to execute the warrant. No contemporaneous direction by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) within the required seven days was produced and former IGP Tan Sri Hamid Bador admitted the delays in issuing a nationwide directive were "slow, indeed very slow" [2, 3, 4].
Despite dismissing the suit, the Court cautioned the police are not immune from responsibility and failure to obey court orders has legal consequences [1, 4]. The Court also ruled that Indira did have direct and personal interest in the warrant’s execution; dismissal was solely due to absence of demonstrated causation [1, 4].
Indira Gandhi filed the RM100 million suit in October 2020. It was dismissed by the High Court in June 2024 before she appealed [1]. The Court of Appeal’s decision today marks the final ruling on the appeal.
Pathmanathan’s last documented departure from Malaysia was in 2014, and Prasana has been missing for 18 years since being taken as an infant [1, 4]. The judgment emphasizes that while the police failed to meet all procedural duties timely, the legal standard for compensation was not satisfied.
The ruling closes the legal challenge on the RM100 million nonfeasance claim but underscores ongoing legal obligations on police to comply with court orders and execute their duties diligently [1, 4].
