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Victoria Museum, Karachi

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Victoria Museum which is now a Supreme Court Registry in Karachi

Victoria Museum, now called Supreme Court Registry, Karachi, founded as Victoria and Albert Museum, is a building in Karachi which houses the Supreme Court of Pakistan Karachi registry branch.

History[edit]

The building was originally built during the British Raj. It was founded by the Duke of Connaught in 1887 during the reign of Queen Victoria as a museum then known as Victoria and Elbert Museum.[1]

In July 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah inaugrated it as the State Bank of Pakistan building and is noted for Jinnah's historic speech which articulates his vision for Pakistan.[1][2]

On 21 May 1892, it was converted into a full museum and named Victoria Museum.[3] It had stuffed animals, artefacts from the Mohenjo-daro, statues of people of Hind and abroad, portraits, paintings, and pictures of famous people from around the world.[3]

In October 1957, an apex court registry was established in Karachi in the building.[1]

In May 1995, the Government of Sindh transferred ownership of the building to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.[2] Following some renovations, the Supreme Court Registry was officially inaugurated on February 20, 1997.[2]

Architecture[edit]

The building was designed in Victorian architecture. It features three courtrooms, the Chief Justice's chambers, six judges' chambers, registrar's chambers, a conference room, a judges' lounge, an office block, and a mosque.[2] It also houses additional rooms for the Supreme Court Bar Association.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Tanoli, Ishaq (December 24, 2018). "New building of SC Registry to be completed in three years". DAWN.COM.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Victoria and Elbert Museum (Supreme Court Building), Karachi". heritage.eftsindh.com.
  3. ^ a b Balouch, Akhtar (November 21, 2013). "In search of the Victoria Museum – Part II". DAWN.COM.