Mirza Hameedullah Beg
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–
·
·
·
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(
May
2023
)
(
)
Mirza Hameedullah Beg
15th
In office
29 January 1977 – 21 February 1978
Appointed by
Preceded by
Succeeded by
of
In office
10 December 1971 – 28 January 1977
Nominated by
Appointed by
of
In office
25 January 1971 – 9 December 1971
Nominated by
Appointed by
Preceded by
Position established
Succeeded by
Dhruva Bihari Lal (acting)
of
In office
11 June 1963 – 24 January 1971
Nominated by
Appointed by
Personal details
Born
22 February 1913
,
,
Died
19 November 1988
(aged 75)
,
Relations
Mirza Nasirullah Beg
(brother)
Mirza Hameedullah Beg
(M. H. Beg) (22 February 1913 – 19 November 1988
)
was the 15th
, serving from January 1977 to February
1978.
Early life and education
[
]
Born into a
family, his father
was the
Chief Justice of
, making him an important figure in Hyderabad
state affairs.His brother Mirza Nasirullah Beg served as chief justice of
in 1966. He was the real uncle of internationally
acclaimed beautician
.
As was the case with many children of aristocracy in
at the time,
Mirza Hameedullah Beg attended
, where he earned a
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 renowned
and
in 1931, and earned Honours in Archaeological and Anthropological
and Historical Triposes. He studied law, economics and politics at the
. He joined the bar through the Honourable Society of
. 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
, at
and
. 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
. 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 the
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
was established, M.H. Beg was appointed
of the
in January 1971.
After a short term as Chief Justice of the
, Beg
was elevated to Judge of the
on 12 December 1971. Over
the course of his Supreme Court tenure, Beg authored 194 judgments and sat on
562 benches.
By being
, he also administered oath of office to
.
Habeas Corpus case
[
]
Beg was also involved in the Habeas Corpus case.
This landmark case in Indian
democracy,
,
came up in 1975 during the
.
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
).
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 [
?
]
who are well housed, well fed and well treated, is almost maternal.
A few months later, in January 1977, M.H. Beg, who was junior to H. R. Khanna, was appointed
by
the
government.
This was against legal tradition, though it had started with
's appointment.
This impingement into the independence of the judiciary was widely protested;
subsequent law ministers, particularly
, initiated a series of measures to bring judicial appointments within the power of the Chief Justice,
and not the executive.
After
, 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
.
Academics
[
]
While practising as an Advocate, Beg took on various faculty positions teaching various subjects:
Professor, Constitutional Law and Equity at
(1943–1946)
Taught Law of Evidence, Human Law, and Ancient Law at
(1946–1963)
Standing Counsel to the
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:
India's second highest civilian award for his contribution towards Law and Public Affairs
References
[
]
George H. Gadbois, Jr.:
.
Supreme Court Observer
. Retrieved
30 September
2024
.
Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai (1986).
Violation of democratic rights in India, v. 2
. Popular Prakashan, New Delhi.
p. 84
. Archived from
on 4 October 2009
. Retrieved
16 November
2009
.
.
.
The Indian Express
. 16 January 2019
. Retrieved
16 January
2019
.
External links
[
]
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Preceded by
January 1977 – February 1978
Succeeded by
(
)
incumbent
of
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:
This page was last edited on 23 April 2026, at 06:29
(UTC)
.
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