HC restrains Bohra leader Taher Fakhruddin from presenting himself as 54th Syedna
The Syedna is the worldwide leader and head of the 1.5-million strong Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam
MUMBAI: A division bench of the Bombay high court recently restrained Dawoodi Bohra leader Taher Fakhruddin from presenting his father or himself as the 53rd and 54th Syedna respectively during the pendency of his appeal against a single-judge bench, which had dismissed his suit asking for declaration that he was the 54th Dai Al-Mutlaq or Syedna. The Syedna is the worldwide leader and head of the 1.5-million strong Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam.
“We are of the view that during the pendency of the Appeal, the Appellant (Taher Fakhruddin) shall not hold out his father, the original Plaintiff, or himself out as the 53rd and 54th Dai al-Mutlaq or the Syedna or the leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community,” said the division bench of Justice B P Colabawalla and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan.
The division bench passed the order primarily in view of the findings recorded by the single-judge bench, in its order of April 23, 2024, that the plaintiff (Taher Fakhruddin) had failed to prove that a valid “nass” was conferred on him while Syedna Mufaddal Burhanuddin Saifuddin had proved that a valid nass had been conferred on him by the 52th Dai al-Mutlaq. Nass is the official declaration of succession followed by the Dawoodi Bohra sect.
The court passed the order on December 17, after senior advocate Fredun DeVitre, representing Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, complained that despite the dismissal of his suit, Taher Fakhruddin continued to describe and hold himself out on various public forums and on his own website and social media platforms as the 54th Dai al-Mutlaq or leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community worldwide, and his father as the duly appointed 53rd Dai al-Mutlaq. In support of this contention, DeVitre tendered printouts of pages from Taher Fakhruddin’s website and social media platforms.
Advocate Chirag Modi, who represented Taher Fakhruddin, opposed the plea, submitting that if the Syedna wished to obtain any relief, he should file his own proceedings, and could not seek any relief in an appeal filed by his opponent.
The bench, however, was not impressed by the submission and directed Taher Fakhruddin to alter the content on his website and social media platforms. After Advocate Modi pointed out that Taher Fakhruddin huge number of followers believed that he was the 54th Dai al-Mutlaq and that such followers should be free to express their views, the court allowed him to refer to himself as “the person whom his followers believe to be the 54th Dai al-Mutlaq” with details of the dismissal of his suit and pendency of the appeal.
On April 23, a single-judge bench of the court had dismissed the suit filed by Taher Fakhruddin, seeking a declaration that he was the duly appointed Syedna, and instead held that his rival, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, had proved that he was validly conferred “nass” by the 52nd Dai Al-Mutlaq and as such was properly appointed as the 53rd spiritual leader of the community.
The suit was originally filed by Khuzaima Qutbuddin, the father of Taher Fakhruddin, in March 2014 for a declaration that he was validly appointed by the 52nd Dai Al-Mutlaq—his half-brother Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin—as his successor.
Qutbuddin claimed that he had been conferred “nass” by the 52nd Dai in December 1965, but despite this, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the son of the 52nd Dai, announced himself as the 53rd Dai after the demise of his father on January 17, 2014, and took control of the community and its properties. Qutbuddin sought a declaration that as the 53rd Dai Al-Mutlaq, he was entitled to administer, control and manage all the immovable and movable properties and assets of the Dawoodi Bohra community, and was entitled to Saifee Mahal, which houses the official office-cum-residence of the Dai Al-Mutlaq.
Qutbuddin also sought a restraint against Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin from entering Saifee Masjid, Raudat Tahera and all other community properties such as mosques, Dar ul-Imarats, community halls, mausoleums, schools, colleges, hospitals, cemeteries and offices.
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, on his part, had claimed to have been validly appointed by the 52nd Dai as his successor, and assumed office after the 52nd Dai died on January 17, 2014. He justified his action, stating that he had been conferred “nass” by his father in a London hospital in 2011, and a fortnight later, his father had publicly announced his succession in Mumbai.
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