Mehr Chand Mahajan (23 December 1889 – 11 December 1967) was an Indian jurist and politician who was the third chief justice of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

. Prior to that he was the prime minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir during the reign of Maharaja Hari Singh and played a key role in the accession of the state to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

nominee on the Radcliffe Commission that defined the boundaries of India and

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# ...

. Mahajan made his name as an accomplished lawyer, a respected judge, and an influential

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. As a judge he was incisive and forthright and had many leading judgements to his credit.

Early life

Mehr Chand Mahajan was born on 23 December 1889 at Tika Nagrota in the Kangra district of Punjab,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now in Himachal Pradesh). His father, Lala Brij Lal, was an advocate, who later established a reputed legal practice at Dharmsala.Ravi Rohmetra
Mehr Chand Mahajan as PM of J&K
Daily Excelsior, 23 December 2016. After completing middle school, Mahajan went to study in the Government College, Lahore, graduating in 1910. He enrolled in M.Sc. Chemistry, but switched to law following persuasion from his father. He earned an LL.B. degree in 1912.

Career as a lawyer

Mahajan started his career as a lawyer in 1913 in Dharamsala, where he spent a year practising. He spent the next four years (1914-1918) as a lawyer in Gurdaspur. He then practiced law in

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 ...

from 1918 to 1943. During his time there, he served as president of the High Court Bar Association of Lahore (1938 to 1943).

Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court

He became a Justice in the pre-independence Lahore High Court on 27.9.1943. After independence, he became judge of East Punjab High Court now known as Punjab and Haryana High Court. While he was serving there, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir called him to become his Prime Minister for the negotiations regarding merger with India on 15.10.1947.

Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir

Mahajan visited Kashmir on invitation of the Maharani Tara Devi in September 1947 and was asked to be the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir which he accepted. On 15 October 1947, Mahajan was appointed the Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and played a role in the accession of the state to India. Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India in October 1947 and Mahajan thus became the 1st Prime Minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, serving in that post until 5 March 1948.

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India

Mahajan took office as the third Chief Justice of India on 4 January 1954. He was the head of India's judicial system for almost a year, until his retirement on 22 December 1954 (mandatory retirement at age 65). Before becoming Chief Justice he served as one of the first Judges of the Supreme Court of independent India from 4 October 1948 to 3 January 1954. Over the course of his tenure on the Supreme Court, Mahajan authored 132 judgments and was a part of 337 benches.

Other positions of note

* Director, Punjab National Bank, 1933–43 * Pres. D.A.V. College, Managing Committee, 1938–43 * Fellow and Syndic, Punjab University, 1940–47 * Judge, Lahore High Court, 1943 * All India Fruit Products Association Bombay Session, 1945 * Member, R.I.N. Mutiny Commission, 1946 * 1947 Dewan of Jammu and Kashmir State 1947-48 * Judge, East Punjab High Court * Punjab Boundary Commission, 1947 * Syndic, East Punjab University, 1947–50 * Constitutional Adviser to His Highness the Maharaja of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

, 1948 * Hon. Degree of LL.D., Punjab University; 1948 * Member, Fruit Development Board, Punjab * Commission on Belgaum (dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra), 1967

References

External links

Mehr Chand Mahajan
Chief justices of India 1889 births 1967 deaths People from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh Chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state) Indian National Congress politicians from Himachal Pradesh 20th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian judges People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict {{India-law-bio-stub People from Punjab Province (British India)