The Jinnah House which is situated on Malabar Hill in Mumbai was designed by architect Claude Batley in European style and was the residence of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
India has vehemently opposed Pakistan's claim of ownership of the Jinnah House in Mumbai. It said that Pakistan had no Locus Standi regarding the property and External Affairs Minister had said that it was an indigenous property and the Indian Government was in the course of renovating it.
It was mentioned by Mr Kumar that the main aim is to put the property into use on the lines of Hyderabad House for holding conferences, meetings, negotiation and external relations programmes.However there has been strong opposition from Pakistani Government in lieu of India claiming the possession of the house.
"We have a claim over it (Jinnah House) and we do not accept that anyone tries to take custody of it. They (Indians) have already accepted that it belongs to Pakistan. We have record of it. They (Indians) have accepted that it belong to Pakistan," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in Islamabad.
Dina Wadia , Jinnah’s daughter had in August 2007 approached the Bombay High Court claiming herself to be the sole legal heir of Jinnah, and being so she should get possession of the house. Post her death Nusli Neville Wadia who is the Chairman of the Wadia group would take forward the litigation process.
Dina Wadia, has played a significant role by initiating a court case where Mr Kumar said that the nationality of the petition would not be questioned and the property which adds to rich heritage of the country belonged to Government of India.
Courtesy/By: Debasmita Goswami
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22 Dec 2018
