Mumbai: An unidentified person was booked on Sunday for allegedly sending a threatening letter to retired Bombay high court judge Gautam Patel, demanding that he publicly withdraw his landmark 2024 judgment on the Dawoodi Bohra succession dispute. The case was registered after Patel, who had been abroad, returned to Mumbai on Sunday and approached the Gamdevi police station the same day.

In his 2024 ruling, Patel settled a long-running succession dispute within the Dawoodi Bohra community, declaring Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin the rightful Dai-al-Mutlaq, or spiritual head of the community, after the death of his father Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin in 2014. The claim had been challenged by Syedna Taher Fakhruddin, son of Khuzaima Qutbuddin.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Ragasudja R, the sender threatened harm unless Justice Patel released a video recanting the verdict. Based on his complaint, police booked the unknown sender under section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation.

HT first reported the matter last week, detailing a series of threats and acts of intimidation directed at Patel and his family, the latest being a threatening letter received on June 5.

Police sources said an attempted break-in was reported at the family’s residence in a London suburb in August 2025. A threatening letter followed on September 3, 2025. In April this year, Patel’s daughter was allegedly assaulted in London after the family refused to comply with demands that the retired judge issue a YouTube video recanting the verdict.

The threats were first reported in September last year, when similar letters were received by Patel’s wife in Mumbai and daughter in London. UK authorities are investigating the threats and are treating the assault on the daughter as a terrorist incident.

Last week, the Bombay Bar Association moved the Bombay high court through a PIL seeking an SIT probe into the threats, harassment and violence allegedly directed at Patel and his family. The petition seeks the involvement of Maharashtra Police, the CBI and the NIA, and also urges the Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the family’s safety. It further seeks guidelines on security for retired judges facing threats linked to their judicial work.