New Delhi, April 17 -- The Supreme Court of India has agreed to examine 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 on April 17, Naushad wanted to be governed by the succession law instead of Shariat without leaving Islam as his religion.

The Court 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...