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The cassation applicant had previously lodged an appeal in the Surabaya Religious Court for an order to stop his daughter (aged 17) marrying her boyfriend. The Surabaya Religious Court dismissed the cassation applicant’s appeal and ordered him to pay court costs (IDR 166,000). The cassation applicant then submitted a request for cassation on 7 March 2012, claiming that the Surabaya Religious Court had made an error in judgment. The cassation applicant claimed that his daughter was underage when she lodged applications to the local Office of Religious Affairs for dispensation to marry. He was primarily concerned with his daughter's application for Determination of Guardianship. The cassation applicant alleged that:

1. his daughter was only 16 years of age when she lodged the application for a Determination of Guardianship, despite stating that she was 17 years of age on the application;
2. the Court should have taken into account that his daughter, being under 18, should not have been allowed to lodge legal documents or appoint an attorney to lodge them on her behalf;
3. his daughter was not an adult and, therefore, her actions were not in accordance with art 47 of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, which states that a child below 18 years and unmarried remains in the custody of their parents insofar as they have not been divested of parental power, and that parents shall represent their child in any legal conduct in and out of court, and art 50, which states that a child under the age of 18, unmarried and not, under the authority of their parents, shall be placed in the care of their guardian.

The Supreme Court found that the Surabaya Religious Court did not misapply the law, nor did it make a judgment contrary to the law. Accordingly, it dismissed the cassation applicant’s request, and ordered the cassation applicant to pay court costs in the amount of IDR 500,000.