The Sindh High Court (SHC) has appointed a commissioner to unearth and take possession of the debits and securities belonging to Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his sister Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah from Qasr-e-Fatima (formerly Mohatta Palace).
Issuing an order on a lawsuit pertaining to the estate of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, a single SHC bench headed by Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan observed that the articles as detailed in the schedule of the suit and an earlier Nazir report were missing from the latest inventory prepared by the official assignee pursuant to the October 13 court order.
The plaintiff’s counsel submitted that the recovery of the articles and assets mentioned in the lawsuit have not surfaced, and as per his knowledge, some valuable assets have been found in the possession of certain individuals.
The court directed the plaintiff’s counsel to file a statement mentioning the names and details of the individuals from whom inquiries should be made in respect of the assets. The bench in the meantime appointed former high court judge Justice (retd) Faheem Ahmed Siddiqui with regard to unearthing, locating and taking possession of the debits and securities from Qasr-e-Fatima.
The court observed that the commissioner will take all necessary steps to find the whereabouts of the debits and securities, conduct inquiries in respect thereof and order for handing out all sums of money, scripts and all the other assets, which are found to have come into the hands of any individual or for their use, to receive all outstandings.
According to the lawsuit, the debits as of October 29, 1970 are the outstanding balance of the credit of current account No. 2355 of the deceased with the Foreign Exchange Branch of the Habib Bank Limited, Karachi (Rs561,760.8), and the outstanding balance to the credit of the current account of the deceased with the National & Grindlays Bank Limited, McLeod Road, Karachi (Rs4,952.17), totalling Rs566,712.
The securities as of October 29, 1970 are 3,000 shares of the face value of Rs5 each of the Habib Bank Limited, valued at the market rate of Rs17.25 per share (Rs51,750), unpaid dividend warrant No. 25C/5683 (Rs550), 4,500 shares of the Karnaphuli Paper Mills Limited of the face value of Rs10 each, valued at the market rate of Rs13.25 per share (Rs59,625).
They also include 3,511 shares of Rs10 each of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited, valued at the market rate of Rs13 per share (Rs45,643), 250 preference shares of Rs100 each and 2,500 ordinary shares of Rs10 each of the Hyderabad Tanning & Shoe Manufacturing Company Limited in liquidation market (value: nil).
They also include 300 ordinary shares of Rs10 each of the Rawalpindi Electric Power Company Limited, valued at the market rate of Rs13.2 per share (Rs3,960), grand totalling Rs72,824,097.
They also include 3,050 shares of the Sui Gas Transmission Company of the face value of Rs100 at Rs143 each (Rs436,150), 31,680 shares of the Adamjee Industries Limited at the market value of Rs15.8 each (Rs477,735).
Jewellery, furniture, fixtures, fittings, cutlery, crockery, silverware, books, carpets, etc. at Qasr-e-Fatima have an estimated value of Rs400,000, while four cars (Cadillac, Mercedes, Chrysler and Packard) in the possession of respondent No. 5 has an estimated value of Rs100,000.
The bench observed that the term of the commissioner is set to be three months. It directed the South deputy commissioner to submit a report on the properties, along with the original documents, of the plots CF-1-5/7 (2,172 sq yds), CF-1-5/7a (1,295 sq yds), CF-1-5/8 (3,308 sq yds) and CF-1-5/8a (3,629¼ sq yds). The lawsuit was filed by the 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 long-standing 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.
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