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Mirza Hameedullah Beg | |
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| 15th Chief Justice of India | |
| In office 29 January 1977 – 21 February 1978 | |
| Appointed by | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
| Preceded by | A. N. Ray |
| Succeeded by | Y. V. Chandrachud |
| Judge ofSupreme Court of India | |
| In office 10 December 1971 – 28 January 1977 | |
| Nominated by | S. M. Sikri |
| Appointed by | V. V. Giri |
| 1st Chief Justice ofHimachal Pradesh High Court | |
| In office 25 January 1971 – 9 December 1971 | |
| Nominated by | J. C. Shah |
| Appointed by | V. V. Giri |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | R. S. Pathak |
| Judge ofAllahabad High Court | |
| In office 11 June 1963 – 24 January 1971 | |
| Nominated by | B. P. Sinha |
| Appointed by | S. Radhakrishnan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1913-02-22)22 February 1913 |
| Died | 19 November 1988(1988-11-19) (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University |
Mirza Hameedullah Beg (M. H. Beg) (22 February 1913 – 19 November 1988[1]) was the 15thChief Justice of India, serving from January 1977 to February 1978.
Born into aDeccani Muslim family, his fatherMirza Samiullah Beg was the Chief Justice ofHyderabad State, making him an important figure in Hyderabad state affairs.He was the real uncle of internationally acclaimed beauticianShahnaz Husain.
As was the case with many children of aristocracy inHyderabad at the time, Mirza Hameedullah Beg attendedSt. George's Grammar School, where he earned agold medal for securing 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 renownedTrinity College andCambridge University in 1931, and earned Honours in Archaeological and Anthropological and Historical Triposes. He studied law, economics and politics at theLondon School of Economics. He joined the bar through the Honourable Society ofLincoln's Inn. He was called to the Bar in England in 1941.
After graduation, M.H. Beg returned to India to begin practising as an Advocate for theAllahabad High Court, atAllahabad andMeerut. 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 theSupreme Court of India. 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.
Beg was raised to the Bench of theAllahabad High Court 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 ofHimachal Pradesh was established, M.H. Beg was appointedChief Justice of theHimachal Pradesh High Court in January 1971.[2]
After a short term as Chief Justice of theHimachal Pradesh High Court, Beg was elevated to Judge of theSupreme Court of India on 12 December 1971. Over the course of his Supreme Court tenure, Beg authored 194 judgments and sat on 562 benches.[3]
By beingChief Justice of India, he also administered oath of office to6th President of IndiaNeelam Sanjiva Reddy.
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 theIndian 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 wasH. R. Khanna). In his April 1976 decision, Justice Beg observed:
We understand that the care and concern bestowed by the state authorities upon the welfare of detenues [sic?] who are well housed, well fed and well treated, is almost maternal.[4]
A few months later, in January 1977, M.H. Beg, who was junior to H. R. Khanna, was appointedChief Justice of India by theIndira Gandhi government. This was against legal tradition, though it had started withA. N. Ray's appointment. This impingement into the independence of the judiciary was widely protested;[5] subsequent law ministers, particularlyShanti Bhushan, initiated a series of measures to bring judicial appointments within the power of the Chief Justice, and not the executive.
AfterMohammad Hidayatullah, 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 theMinorities Commission of India.[6][7]
While practising as an Advocate, Beg took on various faculty positions teaching various subjects:
Since retirement, Beg has written two books discussing Muslim politics in India:
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| Preceded by | Chief Justice of India January 1977 – February 1978 | Succeeded by |
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