Mumbai: Upholding the appointment of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin as the 53rd Da al-Mutlaq (leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community, the Bombay High Court said rival claimants to the post could not produce any evidence.
The court said, once a person comes to a civil court, he cannot ask for any concession with respect to the requirement of evidence to establish the case, irrespective of the religious sect in which the person stands.
Justice Gautam Patel on Tuesday dismissed the 2014 suit filed by Khuzaym Qutbuddin, soon after the death of his brother and then Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in January 2014 at the age of 102.
Burhanuddin's second son Mufaddal Saifuddin took over as the 53rd Syedna after Burhanuddin's death.
Following Qutbuddin's death in 2016, his son Tahir Fakhruddin took over the suit seeking to bar Saifuddin from discharging duties as Syedna.In the 226-page judgment made available on Wednesday, the high court said the plaintiff failed to produce any evidence to prove that Qutbuddin was granted 'nas' (appointment) by the 52nd DAI.
Qutbuddin had claimed in his suit that his brother Burhanuddin had appointed him 'Mazoon' (second-in-command) and personally anointed him as his successor through a secret 'Naas' on December 10, 1965. Was.
However, Justice Patel said that only the 52nd Dai and the plaintiff Qutubuddin were allegedly present at this meeting.
"We are asked to accept his evidence that others understood but that no one ever witnessed this private, unknown incident. We will never know whether the 52nd Da ever personally saw the original plaintiff (Qutbuddin) Said the words he claims he said.We don't even know whether they met alone,'' the judge said.
"There is no record of any of these; this in itself is strange to the community of people keeping old records," the HC said.
The judge said, once a person reaches a secular civil court, his rank in the religious denomination or faith becomes immaterial, and therefore there is no exemption from the requirement of proof simply because a person has the highest rank in the faith. .
Justice Patel said, once a person comes to the court, no matter who he is, the case must be proved as per law.
The judge also said that in 1965, the 52nd Dai was 51 years old while Qutubuddi was 20 years old.The court said, "It is highly unlikely that the 52nd Dai, even before taking his oath of allegiance, would have been thinking about the period beyond his lifetime, given that he lived for almost half a century."
It also refused to accept the plaintiff's claim that the 52nd Dai was in a vegetative state in her later years, and therefore could not possibly appoint a successor.
Justice Patel said that on four occasions between 1969 and 2011, the 52nd Dai announced in the presence of witnesses that he would be succeeded by Saifuddin.
After the 2011 meeting where Saifuddin was awarded NASA, the 52nd Da lived for two and a half years and during that time he was seen in public meetings and discourses. The plaintiffs' claim that a botanical midwife was being carried around was a "serious attack on the basic tenets of the faith and confidence in midwifery", the court said.The judge said, "The overall assessment of the 52nd midwife in 2011 is not one of a person lying in a coma."
Dawoodi Bohra is a religious sect of Shia Muslims. Traditionally a community of businessmen and entrepreneurs, it has over five lakh members in India and over 10 lakh members worldwide.
A "nas" may be provided to any eligible member of the community and need not necessarily be a family member of the current da'i, although the latter is often the practice.
The court said, once a person comes to a civil court, he cannot ask for any concession with respect to the requirement of evidence to establish the case, irrespective of the religious sect in which the person stands.
Justice Gautam Patel on Tuesday dismissed the 2014 suit filed by Khuzaym Qutbuddin, soon after the death of his brother and then Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in January 2014 at the age of 102.
Burhanuddin's second son Mufaddal Saifuddin took over as the 53rd Syedna after Burhanuddin's death.
Following Qutbuddin's death in 2016, his son Tahir Fakhruddin took over the suit seeking to bar Saifuddin from discharging duties as Syedna.In the 226-page judgment made available on Wednesday, the high court said the plaintiff failed to produce any evidence to prove that Qutbuddin was granted 'nas' (appointment) by the 52nd DAI.
Qutbuddin had claimed in his suit that his brother Burhanuddin had appointed him 'Mazoon' (second-in-command) and personally anointed him as his successor through a secret 'Naas' on December 10, 1965. Was.
However, Justice Patel said that only the 52nd Dai and the plaintiff Qutubuddin were allegedly present at this meeting.
"We are asked to accept his evidence that others understood but that no one ever witnessed this private, unknown incident. We will never know whether the 52nd Da ever personally saw the original plaintiff (Qutbuddin) Said the words he claims he said.We don't even know whether they met alone,'' the judge said.
"There is no record of any of these; this in itself is strange to the community of people keeping old records," the HC said.
The judge said, once a person reaches a secular civil court, his rank in the religious denomination or faith becomes immaterial, and therefore there is no exemption from the requirement of proof simply because a person has the highest rank in the faith. .
Justice Patel said, once a person comes to the court, no matter who he is, the case must be proved as per law.
The judge also said that in 1965, the 52nd Dai was 51 years old while Qutubuddi was 20 years old.The court said, "It is highly unlikely that the 52nd Dai, even before taking his oath of allegiance, would have been thinking about the period beyond his lifetime, given that he lived for almost half a century."
It also refused to accept the plaintiff's claim that the 52nd Dai was in a vegetative state in her later years, and therefore could not possibly appoint a successor.
Justice Patel said that on four occasions between 1969 and 2011, the 52nd Dai announced in the presence of witnesses that he would be succeeded by Saifuddin.
After the 2011 meeting where Saifuddin was awarded NASA, the 52nd Da lived for two and a half years and during that time he was seen in public meetings and discourses. The plaintiffs' claim that a botanical midwife was being carried around was a "serious attack on the basic tenets of the faith and confidence in midwifery", the court said.The judge said, "The overall assessment of the 52nd midwife in 2011 is not one of a person lying in a coma."
Dawoodi Bohra is a religious sect of Shia Muslims. Traditionally a community of businessmen and entrepreneurs, it has over five lakh members in India and over 10 lakh members worldwide.
A "nas" may be provided to any eligible member of the community and need not necessarily be a family member of the current da'i, although the latter is often the practice.
