Bombay HC reserves order on 2014 suit in Dawoodi Bohra succession row

Bombay High Court completed its hearing and reserved order on a 2014 suit challenging the position and appointment of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

The suit was initially filed by Khuzaima Qutbuddin soon after his brother and the then Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin passed away in January 2014 at the age of 102. Burhanuddin's second son Mufaddal Saifuddin took over as Syedna.

Qutbuddin in his suit sought the court to restrain his nephew Saifuddin from discharging his duties as Syedna. He had claimed that his brother Burhanuddin had appointed him as the mazoon (second in command) and privately anointed him as his successor through a secret nass (conferment of succession) prior to the mazoon announcement on December 10, 1965.

A single bench of Justice Gautam Patel on Wednesday finished hearing the final arguments in the case and reserved it for orders.
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination among Shia Muslims. Traditionally a community of traders and entrepreneurs, it has more than five lakh members in India and more than 10 lakh across the world. The top religious leader of the community is known as the Dai-al-Mutlaq.