Sir Mian Abdul Rashid, KCSI, H.Pk (; 29 June 1889 – 6 November 1981) was the first Chief Justice of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

legal philosopher Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

, one of the

founding fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

, and a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

Early life and education

He was born on 29 June 1889 in a well-known

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

family, namely Mian family of Baghbanpura of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He received his early education at Central Model School in

, and got his B.A. from Forman Christian College, also in Lahore, and a Tripos and Masters from Christ's College,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1912. In 1913, he was called to the Bar from the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, London.

Law career

He started practising law at

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

and later shifted to

in 1913 where he joined the chambers of Mian Muhammad Shafi. He was then appointed Assistant Legal Remembrancer. In the summer of 1923, he was appointed acting judge of Lahore High Court on recommendation of Sir Shadi Lal, who was then Chief Justice of the said court. From 1927 to 1931, he officiated as Government of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

's Advocate. He was appointed Judge,

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...

in 1933. In 1946, he was made Chief Justice of Judicature at Lahore, and was knighted in the 1946 Birthday Honours list.

First Chief Justice of Pakistan

On 15 August 1947, when Quaid-i-Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

was sworn in as the first

Governor-General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...

, Rashid, as the most senior

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

judge in

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, administered the oath of office to him.

Awards and recognition

* In 2005, the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

honoured him by naming a main road (7th Avenue) after him in the federal capital,

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. The former Seventh Avenue down to Khayaban-i-Suhrawardy and the Kashmir Highway has been renamed ''Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid Avenue''. *

Hilal-e-Pakistan Hilal-e-Pakistan () is the second-highest Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil award (in the hierarchy of "Hilale") of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The award seeks to recognize those people who have made "meritorious contribution ...

(Crescent of Pakistan) Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

References

Bibliography

External links

Biography on the Judiciary Section of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashid, Abdul 1889 births 1981 deaths Lawyers from Lahore Forman Christian College alumni Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Chief justices of Pakistan Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Members of the Inner Temple Legal history of Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani philosophers Mian family Indian knights Indian Knights Bachelor Pakistani knights Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Central Model School, Lahore alumni Recipients of Hilal-i-Pakistan Vice-chancellors of the University of the Punjab