A retired Bombay High Court judge and his family have allegedly been subjected to a prolonged campaign of threats, intimidation and violence across India and the United Kingdom following his 2024 judgment in the long-running Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute.
According to reports, the alleged incidents have continued for nearly 10 months and are linked to the verdict delivered by Justice Gautam S Patel on April 23, 2024, in which he upheld Mufaddal Saifuddin as the lawful 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq and spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
The judgment dismissed a suit filed by Taher Fakhruddin, who had challenged Saifuddin’s claim to the community leadership on the basis of an alleged conferment of succession, known as “nass”. The verdict is presently under challenge before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court.
The most recent incident was reported on June 5, when Justice Patel’s daughter, Aditi Patel, who resides in the United Kingdom, allegedly received an anonymous letter threatening escalating violence against the family unless the retired judge publicly retracted his judgment through a YouTube video.
The letter reportedly claimed that a contract had been issued against the family and contained a digital storage device. The communication bore a German postal mark and was allegedly sent from a fictitious London address.
The family reportedly chose not to access the device because of cybersecurity concerns. The device has since been handed over to the Hertfordshire Police as part of an ongoing investigation.
Reports indicate that the communications demanded that Justice Patel record and circulate a public statement retracting his judgment and claiming that it had been delivered under coercion. The letters allegedly contained detailed instructions regarding the dissemination of such a statement to legal bodies, media organisations and professional associations.
Justice Patel is understood to have informed Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and the Indian High Commission in London about the threats and developments.
The alleged intimidation campaign reportedly began in August 2025, when letters were sent to Justice Patel’s residence in Mumbai and to his daughter in London. One of the communications allegedly claimed responsibility for a break-in at his daughter’s residence in the United Kingdom.
The matter escalated further on April 22, 2026, when Aditi Patel was allegedly assaulted by an unidentified masked individual while in London. She reportedly suffered a fractured nose and other injuries during the attack.
The assault is presently under examination by law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom. The West Hertfordshire Counter Terrorism Unit is understood to be reviewing the incident, while Hertfordshire Constabulary has confirmed that the matter remains under active investigation. Earlier, a non-cognisable complaint had also been registered in Mumbai in relation to the threatening communications.
The succession dispute that forms the backdrop of the controversy arose after the death of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community. Following his demise, his son Mufaddal Saifuddin assumed leadership as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq. The succession was challenged by Khuzaima Qutbuddin, the half-brother of the late Syedna, who claimed that he had been designated successor through a confidential “nass” conferred by Burhanuddin.
When the dispute remained unresolved, Qutbuddin instituted a civil suit before the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2014, seeking a declaration that he was the rightful 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq. Following his death in 2016, his son Taher Fakhruddin was substituted as the plaintiff and continued the proceedings.
After a trial spanning nearly nine years, Justice Patel dismissed the suit in April 2024, holding that the claimant had failed to establish his entitlement to the position and affirming Mufaddal Saifuddin’s status as the lawful spiritual head of the community.
Representatives of Taher Fakhruddin have publicly condemned the alleged threats and acts of violence. They have maintained that such incidents are intended to malign their faction and interfere with the pending appellate proceedings before the High Court.
The reported developments have raised concerns regarding judicial independence and the security of judges and their families after retirement. The matter continues to be investigated by authorities in the United Kingdom, while the appeal against Justice Patel’s succession verdict remains pending before the Bombay High Court.
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