Supreme Court slams threats to retired Bombay high court judge Gautam Patel over 2024 judgement

THe sublime margaret court on tues took serious exclusion to the constant quantity threats and attacks faced by former Bombay high court judge, justice (retd) Gautam Patel and his family observing that no judge can pass any judgment if they are openly threatened for their verdicts.A bench of justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva said, “We read in the newspapers that judges who are passing judgments are facing threats. No judge can pass any judgment this way.”The court passed the observation while hearing a bail plea by a habitual offender who attacked the residence of a district judge in Madhya Pradesh’s Anuppur district for denying him bail in a separate criminal case.The top court referred to the news report showing how the former high court judge’s daughter and her family in London have been threatened and even attacked over a judgment delivered by justice Patil in 2024.HT first reported the matter on Monday highlighting the series of threats received by the judge’s family, the latest being on June 5.The 2024 judgment dealt with succession in the Dawoodi Bohra community. The judgment declared Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin as the rightful claimant to the position of the Dai-al-Mutlaq (spiritual head) of the community after the death of his father Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin in 2014. Syedna’s claim to be the spiritual head was opposed by Syedna Taher Fakhruddin, the son of Syedna’s half-brother Khuzaima Qutubudin.The threat received by justice Patel’s family required him to make a YouTube video recanting his judgment. As the judge did not yield to these demands, in April, the judge’s daughter was assaulted in London. She received another threat through a letter on June 5 .The threats began in September, when the judge’s wife in Mumbai and daughter in London received similar letters. The UK police is investigating the threats to the daughter, and treating the attack on her as a terrorist incident.On Tuesday, the apex court said: “The daughter or the grandchild of the retired judge have not done anything. We have to take note of these things.” In the specific case it was hearing, it directed the accused Priyanshu Singh to withdraw and file a fresh bail plea before the Madhya Pradesh high court.Pursuant to the HT report, the Bombay Bar Association (BBA) passed an eight-point resolution on June 8 condemning the attack and threats issued to the former judge and his family BBA even urged the Union government to take up the matter with the authorities in the UK to ensure safety of justice Patel’s family. It said that such threats and acts of violence strike at the heart of judicial independence and constitute a blatant assault on the rule of law. Such conduct, it added, is not an attack against an individual judge but on the institution of judiciary and on the constitutional promise that disputes will be resolved by courts without fear, favour, affection or ill will.Former Supreme Court judge, justice (retd) Abhay S Oka, called it a “direct attack on the independence of the judiciary”.“I was shocked to read the Hindustan Times news report about serious threats issued to Justice Gautam Patel and his family. As the report discloses, these are not mere threats. In my view, this is a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary,” he said.“Considering the seriousness of the attack on the independence of the judiciary, it may be appropriate for the High Court to consider taking a suo motu action,” he added.In the Madhya Pradesh case, the incident in question occurred in October 2025 when Singh, along with his two associates, indulged in stone pelting and acts of vandalism at the official residence of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) and Civil Judge Amandeep Singh Chhabra in Bhalumada.The judge had in his complaint to the police described the traumatic experience faced by him when stones were pelted at his residence a little after midnight. The accused fled the spot but were later arrested by the police. They later revealed the attack was directed against the judge for denying bail to Singh in another case almost six months ago.Singh approached the top court after his bail plea was rejected by the high court on May 11.