Another appeal filed in Mohatta palace case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notice to defendants of another appeal filed against the October 13 order of setting up a medical and dental college for girls at the Mohatta Palace.

Shayan Akberali and eight other individuals claiming to be living in the neighbourhood of Qasr-e-Fatima have challenged the October 13 order of Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan on the grounds that through the order change of status of the place from residential and heritage to amenity was allowed without following the procedure provided by Karachi Building and Town Planning Rules 2002.

When confronted by the two-member bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi on the maintainability of the appeal as prima facie appellants were not parties to the suit, the counsel for the appellants cited certain rulings of the superior courts and requested to fix the appeal along with two other appeals which had already been fixed for November 18.

Barrister Khwaja Shamsul Islam, counsel for defendant Nazish Amir Ali, who was present in the courtroom of Justice Aqeel in some other matter waived notice of the appeal while the bench ordered for serving notice on other defendants for November 18.

The same bench on November 8 on an appeal of the Sindh government, had suspended the October 13 order of the single bench only to the extent of taking over possession of Qasr-e-Fatima by the official assignee.

The suit on which October 13 order was passed was filed in 1971 and pertains to the administration of the estate of Fatima Jinnah sister of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.