SHC orders status quo on appeal against conversion of Mohatta Palace into medical college

An appellate bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered to maintain status quo on the Sindh culture department’s appeal against an SHC single judge order with regard to the conversion of the estate of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, Qasr-e-Fatima that is commonly known as Mohatta Palace), into a medical and dental college for girls.

Being aggrieved with the verdict of the single bench that had ordered the conversion of the Qasr-e-Fatima into a girl medical and dental college and change of the official name of the property from Mohatta Palace to Qasr-e- Fatima, the Sindh culture department, through its counsel, submitted that the property had been transferred to the provincial government subject to the payment of its market price in 1994.

The provincial law officer submitted that after the acceptance of the sale proceeds and handover of the possession of Qasr-e-Fatima to the provincial government, the property no longer formed part of the estate of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah.

Regarding the consent of the provincial government’s assistant advocate general for the conversion of Qasr-e-Fatima into a girls medical college, the provincial law officer submitted that the assistant advocate general had not received any instructions to record his consent and the same was not binding upon the Sindh government.

The culture department submitted that the Qasr-e-Fatima had been declared a heritage property and it could not be used as a medical college or hospital. The high court was requested to suspend the single bench orders issued on September 29 and October 13 with regard to renaming the Mohatta Palace as Qasr-e-Fatima and its conversion into a girls medical college.

An appellant bench of the SHC, after the preliminary hearing of the appeal, issued notices to the trustees of the Shireen Jinnah Trust and relatives of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah for November 18 and in the meantime, ordered status quo in the matter.

It is pertinent to mention that the SHC single bench had ordered the conversion of Qasr-e-Fatima into a modern medical and dental college for girls and suggested names of trustees for the execution of the trust deed.

The lawsuit was filed by relatives of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, pertaining to the administration of her movable and immovable properties that had been pending in court since the 1970s.

The litigation was initiated following the award of the succession certificate to Shireen Jinnah, the only surviving sister of Fatima Jinnah, after her death on July 10, 1967. The SHC was informed that Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah’s relatives and the Shireen Jinnah Charitable Trust had considered the matter and progressed to amicably settle the longstanding dispute with regard to the property left by Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah.

The high court was informed that the parties had decided to implement the wishes of Shireen Jinnah, as translated through the trust deed, in which it had been desired that the Qasr-e-Fatima’s premises would be used for establishing a modern medical college exclusively for girls, with an attached hospital offering free treatment to the poor.