Eminent historian AG Noorani on Monday said that Jinnah House can be used only for a public purpose
Historian AG Noorani says neither Jinnah's will nor law of the land can be flouted
Eminent historian AG Noorani on Monday said that Jinnah House can be used only for a public purpose. Noorani who has studied the Will made by Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah on May 30, 1939, says that handing over the possession of the prime property in Malabar Hill to an individual can serve no public purpose.
Jinnah’s daughter Dina Wadia, 88, who is currently in Mumbai, had moved court last year claiming the property as she is Jinnah’s only legal heir.
Speaking with DNA, Noorani, however, contradicted her claims. He said, “Jinnah had bequeathed the Jinnah House land, the out houses, the furniture, plates, silver and his motor cars to his sister Fatima who looked after him.” He said that as per the Will, Jinnah had said that Fatima could dispose of the property in any way she wished.
As to what Jinnah left for his only daughter, Noornai said, “By clause 10 of Jinnah’s Will, Rs2 Lakh was put in trust for his daughter Dina.” He explained that the object was that it would, at six per cent, bring an income of Rs1 lakh to her “every month for her life”.
Noorani said that Jinnah had appointed his sister Fatima, a Mumbai solicitor Mohammed Ali Chaiwala and former prime minister of Pakistan Liaqat Ali Khan, as the executors of his Will in May 1939. “Jinnah had bequeathed Rs25,000 to the Anjuman Islam in Mumbai, Rs50,000 to the Mumbai University and a good amount to the Aligarh Muslim University. He did not revise his Will even after partition” Noorani said.
After Fatima’s death for decades the house was given on lease by the government to the British deputy high commissioner for his residence because it was evacuee property.
According to lawyers, Noornai says, Jinnah House is a public property and can be used only for a “public purpose”. Noorani terms former union minister Jaswant Singh’s promise to Dina’s son Nusli to hand over the mansion to him as “presumptuous and illegal”.
He said, “Giving the property to an individual is not a public purpose even if the individual happens to be Jinnah’s grandson”. He said that since the case is pending before the Bombay High Court, it is certainly the court that will have the last word. “Neither Jinnah’s Will nor the law of the land can be flouted” Noorani said.
The court will hear the case on June 27.
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