The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed pleas from residents of old Clifton and the Mohatta Palace Gallery Trust to become parties in a long-standing dispute over the heritage property of late Fatima Jinnah. The court ruling comes after a suit filed by a relative of Miss Jinnah in 1971 about the administration of her properties, including Qasr-i-Fatima, where the court subsequently ruled that it would be used to establish a medical and dental college for girls.
The lawyer representing the old Clifton residents argued that converting the property into a college would infringe upon their rights and privacy due to increased traffic. However, the court order stated that the objective of the Code of Civil Procedure was to avoid multiple proceedings and ensure proper adjudication of the suit.
The court also highlighted that the legal heirs in the case had already agreed to the use of Mohatta Palace as a medical or dental college, as per Fatima Jinnah’s will. It further dismissed concerns about the trust managing the property, stating that the property was given for maintenance to the Sindh government and that the establishment of the trust was “ill-motivated and dishonest.”
The court emphasized the importance of utilizing the property for education and spreading knowledge among women. It stated that objecting to such a use, especially for educational purposes, was ungrateful. The court concluded that neither the trust nor the residents were necessary or proper parties in the lawsuit since it pertained to the administration of private property.
The SHC’s dismissal of the residents and trust’s pleas signifies that the case will proceed without their involvement. The court is currently in the final stages of hearing the case, which has been ongoing since 1971.