The appellant and his children (respondents) disputed the owernship and distribution of the estate of the deceased (wife/mother). The Jantho Shari'a Court (lower court) had stipulated the beneficiaries of the deceased's will as being the parties to the dispute, and distinguished between property that constituted the joint assets of the appellant and deceased, from property that was solely that of the deceased and therefore suitable to be distributed between the beneficiaries.
The lower court had granted half of the latter property to the appellant, and divided the remaining half into fifths between the respondents (the male respondent receiving two-fifths, while the female respondents received one-fifth).
On the whole, the Court accepted the judgment of the lower court. It found, however, that the lower court had erred in applying an Acehnese custom whereby the owner of a parcel of land and the builder of the shop and home complex on the land were to split the proceeds of any sale of the land and home/shop 50/50, because the builder had made no such request, and no such agreement was in place. The Court also criticised the haphazard nature of the lower court's decision, which made it difficult to decipher between the joint assets of the appellant and deceased, and other items/property. Accordingly, the Court provided a new decision to replace that of the lower court, attending to those deficiencies.