Mirza Hameedullah Beg (M. H. Beg) (22 February 1913 – 19 November 1988) was the 15th
Chief Justice of India
The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
, serving from January 1977 to February 1978.
Early life and education
Born into a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
family, his father
Mirza Samiullah Beg was the Chief Justice of
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
, making him an important figure in Hyderabad state affairs.
He was real uncle of internationally acclaimed beautician Shahnaz Hussain.
As was the case with many children of aristocracy in Hyderabad at the time, M.H. Beg attended
St. George's Grammar School, where he earned a
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
for first position in Senior Cambridge H.S.L.C. Examination.
As India was still under heavy British influence, it was common for wealthy Indians to receive higher education in England, particularly when studying law. Thus, M.H. Beg joined the renowned
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
and
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1931, and earned Honours in Archaeological and Anthropological and Historical Triposes. He studied law, economics and politics at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. He joined the bar through the Honourable Society of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
. He was called to the Bar in England in 1941.
Judicial career
After graduation, M.H. Beg returned to India to begin practising as an Advocate for the
Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
, at
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
and
Meerut. From here, M.H. Beg began working up experience in the judicial system. In 1949, he enrolled as an Advocate of the Federal Court of India, and eventually he became an Advocate of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. After building up an extensive practice on all sides he became Standing Counsel to the U.P. Sunni Central Wakf Board and appeared frequently for Municipal bodies.
After experience as Counsel, Beg was then raised to the Bench of the
Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
on 11 June 1963. As Judge, he sat on the Criminal and Civil sides as well as on the Tax Bench. Later, he was appointed Company Judge and became in charge of the matrimonial and testamentary jurisdiction of the High Court from the middle of 1967 to 1970. Shortly after territories were redrawn and the state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
was established, M.H. Beg was appointed
Chief Justice of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court in January 1971.
After a short term as Chief Justice of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court, Beg was elevated to Judge of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
on 12 December 1971.
Habeas Corpus case
Beg was also involved in the Habeas Corpus case. This landmark case in Indian democracy
''Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla'' came up in 1975 during the
Indian Emergency. The legal question hinged on the citizen's right to judicial scrutiny for arrests under emergency. The five seniormost judges of the Supreme court heard the case, and four aligned with the government view that even the right to life stood suspended during emergency (only dissent was
H. R. Khanna
Hans Raj Khanna (3 July 1912 – 25 February 2008) was an Indian judge, jurist and advocate who propounded the basic structure doctrine in 1973 and attempted to uphold civil liberties during the time of Emergency in India in a lone dissenting ju ...
). In his April 1976 decision, Justice Beg observed:
A few months later, in January 1977, M.H. Beg, who was junior to H. R. Khanna, was appointed
Chief Justice of India
The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
by the
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
government. This was against legal tradition, though it had started with
A. N. Ray
Ajit Nath Ray (29 January 1912 – 25 December 2009) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 25 April 1973 till his retirement on 28 January 1977.
Ray was the lone dissenter among the eleven Supreme Court judges that examine ...
's appointment. This impingement into the independence of the judiciary was widely protested;
subsequent law ministers, particularly
Shanti Bhushan, initiated a series of measures to bring judicial appointments within the power of the Chief Justice, and not the executive.
After
Mohammad Hidayatullah
Mohammad Hidayatullah OBE (17 December 1905 – 18 September 1992) was the 11th Chief Justice of India serving from 25 February 1968 to 16 December 1970, and the sixth vice president of India, serving from 31 August 1979 to 30 August 1984. He ...
, Beg was the second Muslim Chief Justice in India. After a one-year term, Beg retired in February 1978.
Subsequently, Beg served as chairman of the
Minorities Commission of India.
Academics
While practising as an Advocate, Beg took on various faculty positions teaching various subjects:
*Professor, Constitutional Law and Equity at
Meerut College
Meerut College is a state-funded college in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. The college is affiliated to Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. The college was established in 1892 and has a campus of . The college has glorious history of achiev ...
(1943–1946)
*Taught Law of Evidence, Human Law, and Ancient Law at
Allahabad University
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
(1946–1963)
*Standing Counsel to the
Allahabad University
, mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees"
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = Ashish Chauhan
, vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava
, head_label ...
*Member of the International Law Association and of the World Association of Judges
Since retirement, Beg has written two books discussing Muslim politics in India:
*''Impact of Secularism on Life and Law'', published in 1985
*''Human Rights and Asia'', published in 1978
Awards
* 1988:
Padma Vibhushan India's second highest civilian award for his contribution towards Law and Public Affairs
References
External links
Reference to the "late M. Hameedullah Beg"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beg, Mirza Hameedullah
1913 births
1988 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of London
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Indian barristers
20th-century Indian judges
20th-century Indian Muslims
Chief justices of India
Scholars from Lucknow
Judges of the Allahabad High Court
Chief Justices of the Himachal Pradesh High Court
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs
20th-century Indian lawyers