Mumbai: Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice G.S. Patel and his family have allegedly been subjected to a sustained campaign of threats and violence in India and the United Kingdom, reportedly linked to his April 2024 judgment in the decade-long Dawoodi Bohra community leadership dispute.
According to reports, Justice Patel’s daughter was accosted and attacked in London by an unidentified masked individual on April 22 this year, sustaining a fractured nose and being left bloodied. UK counter-terrorism authorities are examining the incident.
The Threats
Over the past ten months, Justice Patel’s family has received multiple threatening communications. The first reported threat occurred in August 2025, when letters were sent to both his Mumbai residence and to his daughter in London. One of the letters claimed responsibility for a break-in at his daughter’s home.
The most recent incident was reported on June 5, 2026, when an anonymous letter was sent to his daughter in London, warning of escalating violence and claiming that a contract had been issued against the family. The letter bore a German postal mark and was sent from a fictitious London address. It included a digital storage device, which is now in the custody of Hertfordshire Police. The family chose not to access the device due to security concerns.
The communications allegedly demanded that Justice Patel publicly retract his judgment through a YouTube video. The letters also outlined instructions for disseminating such a statement to legal bodies and the media.
A non-cognisable complaint had earlier been registered in Mumbai. Law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom are actively investigating the matter.
Justice Patel has reportedly informed the Chief Justice of India, the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, and the Indian High Commission in London about the threats and incidents.
The Judgment
On April 23, 2024, Justice Patel held that Mufaddal Saifuddin, the 53rd Dai and incumbent leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, is the rightful leader of the community. He dismissed a suit filed by Taher Fakhruddin, who had challenged Saifuddin’s leadership, on the ground that Fakhruddin could not prove his appointment as the Syedna, the community leader. The verdict is presently under challenge before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court.
Background of the Dispute
The deeply contested succession dispute within the Dawoodi Bohra community arose following the demise of the 52nd Syedna, Mohammad Burhanuddin. His son, Mufaddal Saifuddin, assumed leadership as the 53rd Syedna. This was disputed by Khuzaima Qutbuddin, the half-brother of the deceased leader, who claimed that a secret nass, or conferment of succession, had been made in his favour by the late 52nd leader, making him the rightful Dai al-Mutlaq.
When the dispute could not be resolved, Qutbuddin filed a suit before the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2014, seeking a declaration that he was the rightful 53rd Dai. In 2016, while evidence was still being recorded, the original plaintiff passed away and his son, Taher Fakhruddin, was substituted as the plaintiff. The trial ran for nine years before the suit was eventually dismissed in April 2024.
Case Details
- Court: Bombay High Court
- Judge Who Delivered Original Verdict: Justice G.S. Patel (now retired)
- Date of Judgment: April 23, 2024
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