Short Biography of ‘Mohammad Hidayatullah’ | Mohammad Hidayatullah Biography

Mohammad Hidayatullah

‘Mohammad Hidayatullah’ was born on 17 December 1905. He belonged to an upper-class family. His father was Khan Bahadur Hafiz Mohammed Wilayatullah who was an Urdu poet. His grandfather Munshi Kudartullah was an advocate in Varanasi.

Mohammad Hidayatullah completed his primary education at the Government High School of Raipur. He attended Morris College in Nagpur. He attended Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He was awarded an LL.D. from the University of the Philippines and a D. Litt. from the University of Bhopal.

After graduation, Hidayatullah returned to India and enrolled as an advocate of the High Court of Central Provinces and Berar at Nagpur on 19 July 1930. He also taught Jurisprudence and Mahomedan Law in the University College of Law at Nagpur. He was appointed Government Pleader in the High Court at Nagpur. He became the Advocate General of Central Provinces and Berar (now Madhya Pradesh).

Mohammad Hidayatullah was the Chief Justice of India from 25th February 1968 to 16th December 1970. He was made as the acting president for a short while. After his retirement, he was elected as the Vice-President of India. He was the sixth Vice-President of India. He died on 18th September 1992.

Mohammad Hidayatullah is regarded as an eminent jurist, scholar, educationist, author, and linguist. In his time he was the youngest judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was the first Muslim Chief Justice of India.

Having served in all of these positions made Hidayatullah unique among other members of Indian history. Justice Hidayatullah became the only person to have served in all three offices of Chief Justice of India, President of India, and the Vice President of India. 

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