Former Bombay High Court judge Gautam Patel has lodged a police complaint in Mumbai after receiving a series of threatening letters linked to his 2024 ruling in the Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute.
Justice Patel told PTI on Monday that he filed a complaint with the Gamdevi police on Sunday after he and his family allegedly received anonymous threats over the past 10 months.
The intimidation reportedly intensified on June 5 when a threatening letter bearing a German postal mark reached the London residence of his daughter. According to the complaint, the letter warned of a threat to the family’s life and claimed that a "contract" had been issued against them.
The communication also contained a digital storage device, which has been handed over to the London police for investigation.
The retired judge said the senders demanded that he upload a video on YouTube apologising for his judgment and retracting the verdict on the succession and title of the Syedna, the spiritual leader of the million-strong Dawoodi Bohra community, claiming it had been delivered under "duress and coercion".
Similar threat letters were also sent to Justice Patel’s Mumbai residence and received by his wife, the complaint stated.
Last week, London police provided security cover to Justice Patel and his family after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, during an official visit to the UK, raised the issue with Indian High Commissioner P Kumaran.
The high commissioner subsequently assured that he would take up the matter with local authorities to ensure adequate protection for the former judge and his family.
On April 24, 2024, Justice Patel upheld the position of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community, ruling that he had a valid ‘nass’ (appointment).
The court dismissed a suit originally filed in 2014 by Khuzaima Qutbuddin following the death of the 52nd Syedna, Mohammed Burhanuddin, in January that year.
After Qutbuddin’s death in 2016, his son Taher Fakhruddin continued the legal challenge, claiming his father had conferred the powers on him.
In his ruling, Justice Patel held that the plaintiffs had failed to provide evidence proving that Qutbuddin had been conferred ‘nass’ by the 52nd Dai.
Justice Patel retired on April 25, 2024. The succession verdict has since been challenged before a division bench of the Bombay High Court, where the matter remains pending.
(With inputs from PTI)
