Capping a decade-long legal battle, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition challenging the position of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the religious head of the Dawoodi Bohra community. The plea was filed by Syedna's nephew Taher Fakhruddin.
Justice GS Patel pronounced the judgment today, dismissing Fakhruddin's suit, according to Live Law. The High Court had reserved the order on April 5, 2023, after a legal battle spanning nine years. The final hearing began in November 2022 and concluded in April 2023.
Justice Patel, while dismissing the suit, said, "I don't want any upheavals. I have kept the judgment as neutral as possible. I have only decided on the issue of proof and not faith."
Mufaddal Saifuddin became the 'Dai-al-Mutlaq' or the 53rd spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, after the death of his father Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin in 2014.
However, Syedna Burhanuddin's half-brother Khuzaima Qutbuddin challenged Mufaddal Saifuddin's succession as the Syedna, claiming the deceased leader had secretly conferred 'nass,' the official declaration of succession, upon him in 1965. As per his plea, Mufaddal Saifuddin took over as the Syedna in a fraudulent manner.
A "nass" can be conferred upon any deserving member of the community and not necessarily a family member of current Dai, although the latter is often the practice.
According to Qutbuddin's petition, the late Syedna had asked him to keep the nass a secret and he abided by the oath of secrecy given to him by the 52nd head till his death. The petitioner also accused the current Syedna of fraud and sought entry to Saifi Manzil, the house of the Syedna in Mumbai.
Syedna Saifuddin opposed the suit, claiming the nass of 1965 lacked witnesses and could not be accepted. He claimed that as per the established and prevalent doctrines of the Dawoodi Bohra faith, nass could be changed and revoked.
As per Syedna's claims, on June 4, 2011, the 52nd Dai conferred nass on Syedna Saifuddin in the presence of witnesses at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital in London, where he was admitted after suffering a stroke.
During the heard, the court considered five issues, including the maintainability of the suit, requirements of a valid 'nass', whether a valid 'nass' was conferred on original plaintiff Qutbuddin and subsequently his son Fakhruddin, whether a 'nass' can be revoked or changed, and whether a valid 'nass' was conferred on defendant Saifuddin.
Advocate Anand Desai for Fakhruddin contended that 'nass' once conferred is permanent and cannot be changed. However, Saifuddin's advocate Janak Dwarkadas argued that 'nass' could be changed, and even if a 'nass' had been conferred on Qutbuddin, only the last 'nass' would be valid which was conferred on Saifuddin.
The Dawoodi Bohra community expressed gratification for the verdict. A statement issued by the community hailed the judgement, calliing it a historic and defining moment for the community. "The judgement, which after having carefully considered the evidence led and the elaborate arguments advanced by both the parties, has conclusively held that the 52nd al-Dai al-Mutlaq His Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin had appointed his son, His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as his successor and the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohra community. The rather unfortunate challenge to Syedna Saifuddin’s appointment and the various falsehoods that it was based on has been conclusively dealt with in the said judgement and the claims of Khuzema Qutbuddin, the Original Plaintiff and his son Taher Qutbuddin, the current Plaintiff, have been comprehensively rejected. The judgement has firmly dealt with and dismissed the misinterpretation and misleading portrayal by the Plaintiffs of the facts and the religious doctrines of the Dawoodi Bohra faith," the statement read.