SHC bans commercial activities at Hyderabad's Dialdas club

Commissioner directed to visit 67 heritage sites of Hyderabad and submit report

KARACHI: In its detailed judgment regarding the use of Dialdas Community Club, which is a protected heritage, for commercial purposes, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the protection of all declared heritage structures in Hyderabad.

The commercial use of these 67 places, as notified on May 20, 2011 by the Sindh culture department, has also been pronounced illegal and, therefore, banned.

"The Hyderabad commissioner, being the administrative head of the division, shall physically visit all the declared and notified protected properties and submit a necessary report, along with photographs, to the quarter concerned, as well to this court," reads the judgment given by the bench of Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Muhammad Iqbal Mehar.



"The commissioner shall ensure that all properties, declared as heritage [sites] in the aforesaid notification, are protected within the spirit of the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994." The short order of the judgment, which came on a petition filed by Tahir Khan against construction of a banquet hall in Dialdas club, was given few months ago.

The club, established in 1920 by Seth Dialdas Mulchand, is located near the SHC Hyderabad circuit bench on Miran Muhammad Shah Road, which is home to several heritage buildings. Its stated objective is to promote social interaction and esprit de corps among its members and arrange recreation, amusement and sports activities for the members.

It consists of two auditoriums, a tennis court and spacious ground, besides the main building. The court barred the club's management from taking new bookings for marriages and other commercial events from March 31, 2017. It also disallowed construction of a banquet in the club's premises.



Last year, the club's administration invited an offer for construction of a centrally air-conditioned banquet, in violation of its own by-laws, according to the judgment. The court noticed that not only the heritage notification but even the club's rules prohibit commercial utilisation, especially for non-members.

The judgment defined culture and heritage at length to explain why any structural change in the club's existing condition will harm its heritage value. "The name of development is not an excuse to destroy the culture, particularly when it comes to the cultural heritage."

The judges also noted that though the club's management, which is the respondent in the case, challenged maintainability of the petition, it never questioned the 2011 notification. "The respondents have not even taken the plea of not having knowledge thereof."

The culture department in May, 2011, gave one month to the owners and management of all the heritage structures to challenge declaration of these places as heritage sites.



Justices Panhwar and Mehar also reprimanded the provincial government and Hyderabad commissioner for failing to monitor the heritage sites. "The commissioner is not the ultimate administrator. He is indirectly required to keep the declared protected property alive," they said.

The Dialdas club's administration has challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which has admitted the petition and so far four hearings have been held, according to the club's secretary Aslam.

Other heritage structures 

The other heritage properties that the SHC ordered protection of include community halls, educational institutions, official buildings, mosques, private housing structures, hospitals, the jail and fire station. The official buildings include the district and sessions court, mukhtiarkar office and central jail, while government Naival Rai High School, Sindh Government Law College, Noor Muhammad High School, Jamia Arabia High School, Sindh homeopathic college and Sindh University old campus are the educational structures.

Holmstead Hall, Besant Hall, Shahani Building, Tola Ram Building, Mukhi House, Rahat Mehal, Pratab Mehal, Daswani Dluma Lodge, Sultan Hotel, Kalhoro and Talpur tombs, Abul Nabi Kalhoro mosque, Silawatpur Jamia mosque, Jethamal Mehal, Tajumal Mehal, Ruknami Nivas and Rauf Manzil are some other heritage propertie