Retired Bombay High Court judge Gautam Patel and his family are receiving death threats. The series of threats has been going on for the last 10 months. He says that he has been receiving continuous threats since his decision in the Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute. He told that recently his daughter Aditi Patel who is living in London has received a threatening letter.
According to reports, Aditi Patel, who lives in London, received an anonymous letter on June 5. It was written in this letter that if Justice Patel does not publicly withdraw his decision of April 2024 through a YouTube video, then his entire family will be cremated. It is being told that an SD card was also sent along with the letter. In which it was claimed that a gang had been hired to carry out the threats.
Officials believe that this latest letter is part of a planned threat campaign that started in August 2025. Earlier too, similar letters were sent to Justice Patel's wife in Mumbai and Aditi Patel in London. It is alleged that in these letters the retired judge was demanded to publicly admit that he had given the verdict under pressure.
This matter became more serious when Aditi Patel was attacked by a masked man in London on 22 April. It is said that his nose was broken in the attack. British police are investigating both the attack and the threatening messages. West Hertfordshire's Counter-Terrorism Unit is reviewing the case, while Hertfordshire Police have confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing.
Actually, these threats are related to Justice Patel's decision of April 23, 2024 in the Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute. In that decision, he had dismissed the suit filed by the faction led by Taher Fakhruddin and recognized Mufaddal Saifuddin as the rightful successor as the 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq, or spiritual leader, of the Dawoodi Bohra community. This decision is currently under challenge in the division bench of Bombay High Court. After this decision, the judge and his family are being targeted.
