KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed Advocate General Sindh to file original layout plant and maps of the area where Mohatta Palace is located and allowed him to prepare copies of entries of the plots whereon Mohatta Palace had been built from original register of record of rights in the presence of Nazir.
During the hearing of lawsuit pertaining to administration of estate of Mohtarama Fatima Jinnah, Adovcate General (AG) Sindh presented before the single bench, headed by Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed, the original register of record of rights.
The AG Sindh submitted that as per entries in the register of four plots whereon Mohatta Palace was built two were in the Name of Ms Fatima Jinnah while two in the name of Ms Shereen Jinnah.
At this juncture Justice Zulfiqar observed that when the lawsuit was instituted all the four plots were in the name of Ms Fatima Jinnah.
The AG Sindh while quoting an order passed in the lawsuit in 1996 contended that Sindh government owned the Mohatta Palace as party to the lawsuit had given their consent to its sale to Sindh government.
Justice Zulfiqar at this observed that final determination of the value of the property had yet to be made as the trustees of Shereen Jinnah Charitable had not agreed with value initially determined.
Justice Zulfiqar asked the AG Sindh to read various orders passed by the court in this regard. The AG sought time to go through those order and prepare his submissions. The court allowed him time and deferred further hearing till December 23.
The single judge had on September 29 ordered the Sindh government to stop using name of Mohatta Palace, a property of Ms Fatima Jinnah in Clifton, Karachi, and directed to use term Qasr-e-Fatima for the same.
On October 13, with consent of the parties to the lawsuit, Justice Zulfiqar had ordered for forming a trust to establish and run a girls medical college with residential facilities in the premises of Mohatta Palace and directed the official assignee to prepare inventory of the article present there and take possession of the property.
Intra courts appeals were filed by the Sindh government others against the two orders.
A two-members bench had disposed of the intra court appeals and suspended the order of September 29 and also restrained the official assignee from taking over the possession of Mohatta Palace till final a final order was passed on the lawsuit.
Initially, suit for administration was instituted on October 29, 1970 by Hussein Ali Walji, first cousin of Miss Fatima Jinnah. Later on, Shareen Jinnah also initiated proceedings of inheritance for obtaining her share in Miss Fatima Jinnah’s estate which includes moveable and immovable property, jewellery, shares and cash etc.
In 1979, Shareen Jinnah purportedly, formed a trust for establishing a medical college in the premises of Qasr-e-Fatima commonly known as Mohatta Palace. The institution of the trust namely Shareen Jinnah Charitable Trust (SJCT) was also contested by Hussein Ali’s successors. The current plaintiff in administration suit Nazish Amir Ali Walji is grandson of Hussein Ali Walji.
