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 Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

during the reign of Maharaja

Hari Singh Hari Singh Bahadur (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of the Dogra dynasty. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's deat ...

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 Nagrota is a town located in the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is located on National highway 44 between Jammu city and Udhampur. It is situated on the bank of River Tawi. Nagrota along with Kashmiri Pandit Migrant town ...

in the

Kangra district Kangra district is the most populous district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having one of the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch of ...

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 Dharamshala (, ; also spelled Dharamsala) is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the winter capital of the state and the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district since 1855. The town also hosts the Tibetan ...

.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 The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

, 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 Gurdaspur is a city in the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a bord ...

. 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 Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Pe ...

He became a Justice in the pre-independence

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...

on 27.9.1943. After independence, he became judge of East Punjab High Court now known as

Punjab and Haryana High Court Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Pe ...

. 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

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

, serving in that post until 5 March 1948.

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India

Mahajan took office as the third

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

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 Punjab National Bank alias PNB is an Public sector banks in India, Indian government bank based in New Delhi. It was founded in May 1894 and is the List of banks in India, second-largest public sector bank in India in terms of its business volum ...

, 1933–43 * Pres. D.A.V. College, Managing Committee, 1938–43 * Fellow and Syndic,

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...

, 1940–47 * Judge,

, 1943 * All India Fruit Products Association Bombay Session, 1945 * Member, R.I.N. Mutiny Commission, 1946 * 1947 Dewan of

State 1947-48 * Judge, East

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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)