MUMBAI: Gautam Patel, a retired judge of the Bombay High Court, along with his family, has allegedly been subjected to repeated threats in India and the United Kingdom over his 2024 verdict in a succession dispute within the Dawoodi Bohra community. The family has received multiple violent threats over the past ten months through letters, as reported by news agency PTI. The family has stated that Justice Patel's daughter, who resides in London, received the most recent letter on June 5.
The June 5 letter sent to his daughter warned of violence and claimed that a 'contract' had been issued against the family. The letter, which bore a German postal mark, included a digital storage device that is now in the custody of the London police. According to reports, the letters demanded that Justice Patel record and upload a video on YouTube stating that he had delivered the verdict on the Syedna issue 'under duress and coercion' and apologise for his judgement, PTI reported.
Condemnation by Bombay Bar Association
The Bombay Bar Association on Monday passed a resolution condemning the threats issued to the former judge and his family, calling for strict action against those responsible. The association urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
Background of the Succession Dispute
On April 24, 2024, a single bench of Justice Patel had upheld the position of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community, noting that he had a valid 'nass' (appointment). Justice Patel dismissed a suit filed in 2014 initially by Khuzaima Qutbuddin after the death of his brother, then Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai, in January 2014 at the age of 102. Burhanuddin's second son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, subsequently assumed the position of the 53rd Syedna.
In his suit, Qutbuddin had claimed that his brother Burhanuddin had appointed him as 'mazoon' (second in command) and had privately anointed him as successor through a secret 'nass'. After Qutbuddin's death in 2016, his son Taher Fakhruddin took over the case, asserting that his father had conferred the powers on him.
In the judgment, Justice Patel observed that the complainants had failed to produce any proof to establish that Qutbuddin was conferred 'nass' by the 52nd Dai. The succession verdict was later challenged by the complainants before a division bench of the High Court, where the matter is currently pending.
