Bombay Bar Association Condemns Threats To Retired Justice Gautam Patel Over Dawoodi Bohra Succession Verdict

Mumbai, June 8: The Bombay Bar Association on Monday condemned the threats issued to retired judge of the Bombay High Court, Gautam Patel, and his family. The person(s) who issued the threat and allegedly targeted the judge's daughter, Aditi, in London wanted Patel to recant the judgment he had passed in April 2024 upholding Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (79) as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq, or leader, of the Dawoodi Bohras, who are Shia Muslims with a population of one million. Talking to FPJ on Monday, Justice Patel confirmed the threats.

Bar Association expresses solidarity

Expressing solidarity with Justice Patel and his family, the Association urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

More than two years after delivering the landmark judgment in the Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute, Justice Patel and his family have been receiving threatening letters demanding that he publicly recant his verdict.

Latest threat against daughter in London

The latest threat surfaced on June 5, when Justice Patel’s daughter, Aditi Patel, received an anonymous letter at her residence in Hertfordshire, London. The letter, bearing a German postal mark, warned of violence and claimed that a “contract” had been issued against the family. It also contained a digital storage device, which is now in the custody of the London police.

The letter stated: “You were given ample warning. The gang has been paid. The next step involves cremation of you and your family. You can cancel the contract by doing what you were told in the last letter. Attached is a chip that shows what happens because you chose not to comply.”

Although the letter was addressed to his daughter, Justice Patel said it was clearly intended for him. “It is clearly directed at me. Look at the language,” he said.

Origins of the threats

According to Justice Patel, the threats began in August 2025 when his wife, Malashri Patel, received an unsigned and undated letter at their Mumbai residence.

The letter claimed to be from a “powerful guild” of Dawoodi Bohra community members interested in justice being served and warned that a dangerous syndicate had been engaged. Around the same time, there was also a break-in at his daughter’s home in London.

Based on that communication, the Gamdevi police registered a non-cognisable complaint in September last year.

Justice Patel questioned the authenticity of the claim made in the letter that the authors were not affiliated with either side in the succession dispute. “If you are not from either side, then who are you?” he asked.

He said he has informed the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant; the acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Ravindra Gughe; and the Indian High Commissioner in London about the threats.

Justice Patel further observed that the threats appeared to have been “carefully calibrated”, exploiting the jurisdictional divide between India and the United Kingdom.

Community reaction

Meanwhile, both factions in the succession dispute condemned the threats. In a statement, Dr Aziz Bhaisaheb Qutbuddin, Director of Communications and brother of Taher Fakhruddin, who lost the suit, said that if the allegations were true and intended to pressure Justice Patel into recanting his judgment, the acts were meant to malign their side and derail the appeal pending before a division bench of the Bombay High Court.

A separate statement issued on behalf of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin expressed shock and distress over the incidents, describing them as contrary to the community’s values.

“The rule of law must always be respected, and any attempts to intimidate the judiciary in any form are completely unacceptable,” the statement said.

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 (leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community while noting that he had valid 'nass' (appointment).

Justice Patel had dismissed a suit filed in 2014 initially 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.

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Qutbuddin had, in his suit, claimed his brother Burhanuddin appointed him as the “mazoon” (second in command) and privately anointed him as his successor through a secret “nass” (conferment of succession).

In 2016, after Qutbuddin passed away, his son Taher Fakhruddin took over the suit, claiming his father had conferred the powers on him.

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