Who are the Dawoodi Bohras, and what is the case in Supreme Court?

The Dawoodi Bohras are members of the Muslim community’s Shia sect, with an estimated million members spread across the world.

The arguments on the petition are likely to begin next month.

The Dawoodi Bohras are members of the Muslim community’s Shia sect. Their leader is known as the Al-Dai-Al-Mutlaq. For over 400 years, the leader has been based out of India, including the current and the 53rd leader, His Holiness Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. According to the members, around 1 million members of the community are spread across the world.

The leader of the community is recognised by the members as having the right to excommunicate its members. In practice, being excommunicated includes not being allowed to access a mosque belonging to the community or a burial dedicated to the community. Among those who have faced excommunication in the past were people who contested the headship of the leaders.

The Act was enacted on November 1, 1949, to stop the practice of excommunication prevalent in certain communities, as it led to the deprivation of legitimate rights and privileges of its members and in “keeping with the spirit of changing times and in public interest”.

The excommunication of any community member was made invalid, “notwithstanding anything contained in law, custom, usage” for the time being in force. After the act was enacted, one of the members of the Dawoodi Bohra community filed a suit in 1949, saying certain orders passed by their leader were illegal because of the act. Other cases also came before various courts and a petition was filed before the SC by the leader, challenging the constitutionality of the act.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/case-excommunication-dawoodi-bohras-explained-8168141/

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