Muhammad Shahabuddin (13 May 1895 – 13 April 1971) was the 3rd Chief Justice of Pakistan, serving from 3 May to 12 May 1960. He also served as acting Governor of East Bengal from 22 December 1954 to 14 June 1955.

Early life

Shahabuddin was born on 13 May 1895 at Ellore in erstwhile

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

to a Deccani Muslim family. He graduated in arts from

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

and in law from Madras Law College.

Career

Shahabuddin joined the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

in November 1921 and was posted as a sub-collector at Madras. He later served as a joint magistrate and a district and session judge until February 1943 when he was appointed an additional judge of the Madras High Court. In September 1945 he was confirmed as a judge of the Madras High Court. Shahabuddin was appointed as a judge of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

High Court after the Partition. He served on the Indo-Pak Boundary Disputes Tribunal in 1949–50. He became the Chief Justice of the Dhaka High Court in February 1950. In 1953 he was appointed as a judge of the Federal Court. From 22 December 1954 to 14 June 1955 he acted as the Governor of

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

(Pakistan). Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Chaudhury handed over the government of East Pakistan to Abu Hossain Sarkar and made him Chief Minister on 3 June 1955. Shahabuddin was not told of the decision beforehand and as a result he resigned from the governorship on 4 June 1955. He became the Chief Justice of Pakistan in 1955. Shahabuddin also chaired the Constitution Commission.

Death

Shahabuddin died on 13 April 1971 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 ...

, Pakistan.

References

1895 births Pakistani people of Hyderabadi descent 1971 deaths Muhajir people University of Madras alumni Pakistani judges Governors of East Pakistan Chief justices of Pakistan {{Pakistan-law-bio-stub

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References