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Bombay High Court Orders Protection After FIR Over Threats To Ex‑Judge Gautam Patel

The order underscores judicial safety, requiring Mumbai police to personally supervise the probe with a status report due July 2.

Overview

  • Mumbai police registered a criminal case after Justice Gautam Patel filed a complaint on Monday about repeated anonymous threats that demanded he publicly retract his April 2024 Dawoodi Bohra judgment.
  • The Bombay High Court directed the state to provide round‑the‑clock protection and the government said two police security officers have been deployed at Patel’s Mumbai residence.
  • The court asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to personally supervise the investigation and submit a status report on July 2 to show progress on identifying the unknown sender or senders.
  • Officials say the harassment has included multiple letters over the past ten months, a June 5 package to Patel’s daughter in London bearing a German postal mark and an SD card now with UK investigators, and a physical assault on his daughter in April that UK police are probing.
  • Bar bodies have sought a high‑level probe by an SIT, CBI or NIA and authorities warn the threats target a 2024 ruling that recognised Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, a judgment that is still under appeal and whose safety implications concern the wider judiciary.