The Bombay Bar Association on Monday issued a resolution condemning repeated threats allegedly made to a retired Bombay High Court judge and his family in India and the United Kingdom over his 2024 verdict in a case related to the Dawoodi Bohra succession row, and called for strict action against the perpetrators.
In April 2024, Justice Gautam Patel had upheld the position of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq (leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community, while noting that he had a valid appointment.
People close to Justice Patel and his family said they have been receiving multiple threats over the past ten months, with the most recent one received on June 5 by his daughter in London.
The letters allegedly demanded that Justice Patel record and release a video on YouTube stating that he had delivered the verdict in the Syedna case “under duress and coercion”.
When contacted, Justice Patel refused to comment on the police investigation. However, the Bombay Bar Association issued a resolution condemning the threats and called for strict action against the perpetrators.
The association expressed solidarity with Justice Patel and his family and urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to identify and arrest those responsible.
WHAT DO THE LETTERS SAY
One of the letters sent last year stated that they were “warning” him and added, “We have employed a very capable and dangerous syndicate,” while asking Justice Patel to record and upload a video recanting his judgment.
A subsequent letter sent this month said, “YOU WERE GIVEN AMPLE WARNING. THE GANG HAS BEEN PAID. THE NEXT STEP INVOLVES CREMATION. YOURS AND YOUR FAMILY.”
The letters also demanded that Justice Patel apologise for delivering the judgment.
The June 5 letter sent to his daughter warned of violence and claimed that a “contract” had been issued against the family. The letter, bearing a German postal mark, included a digital storage device, which is now in the custody of local police in London.
DISAPPOINTED WITH HIGH COMMISSION’S RESPONSE
Justice Patel told India Today TV that the threats issued to him and his family over a judicial verdict had broader implications for the justice delivery system, raising concerns about the ability of judges to function independently without fear of reprisals after retirement.
“Judges deliver judgments in hundreds of cases during their careers and cannot be expected to discharge their duties freely if they face intimidation or threats long after leaving office,” he said.
The retired judge also expressed disappointment over the response of Indian authorities in the United Kingdom. Referring to an attack on her daughter in April, Justice Patel said he was informed that the Indian High Commission could do little as she is a British national.
Justice Patel further said that after receiving the latest threat, he wrote to the Indian High Commission seeking assistance, but had not received a response so far.
WHAT IS THE CASE ABOUT?
On April 24, 2024, a single bench of Justice Patel upheld the position of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq (leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community, while noting that he had valid *nas* (appointment).
Justice Patel had dismissed a suit originally filed in 2014 by Khuzaima Qutbuddin soon after his brother and then Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai, passed away in January 2014 at the age of 102. Burhanuddin’s second son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, then took over as the 53rd Syedna.
In 2016, after Qutbuddin passed away, his son Taher Fakhruddin continued the suit, claiming his father had been conferred the powers by the 52nd Dai.
In his judgment, Justice Patel noted that Taher Fakhruddin had failed to submit any proof showing that Qutbuddin had been conferred *nas* by the 52nd Dai.
This was among several landmark judgments delivered by Justice Patel, who retired on April 25, 2024. The verdict has been challenged by Taher Fakhruddin before a division bench of the High Court, where it is currently pending.
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