Born into a
Deccani Muslim family, his father
Mirza Samiullah Beg was the Chief Justice of
Hyderabad State, making him an important figure in Hyderabad state affairs.His brother Mirza Nasirullah Beg served as chief justice of
Allahabad High Court in 1966. He was the real uncle of internationally acclaimed beautician
Shahnaz Husain. As was the case with many children of aristocracy in
Hyderabad at the time, Mirza Hameedullah Beg attended
St. George's Grammar School, where he earned a
gold medal 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
Trinity College and
Cambridge University in 1931, and earned Honours in Archaeological and Anthropological and Historical Triposes. He studied law, economics and politics at the
London School of Economics. He joined the bar through the Honourable Society of
Lincoln's Inn. 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
Allahabad High Court, at
Allahabad and
Meerut. 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
Supreme Court of India. 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
Allahabad High Court 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
Himachal Pradesh was established, M.H. Beg was appointed
Chief Justice of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court in January 1971. After a short term as Chief Justice of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court, Beg was elevated to Judge of the
Supreme Court of India on 12 December 1971. Over the course of his Supreme Court tenure, Beg authored 194 judgments and sat on 562 benches. By being
Chief Justice of India, he also administered oath of office to
6th President of India Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.
Habeas Corpus case Beg was also involved in the Habeas Corpus case. This landmark case in Indian democracy,
Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla, came up in 1975 during the
Indian Emergency. 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
H. R. Khanna). In his April 1976 decision, Justice Beg observed: {{blockquote|We understand that the care and concern bestowed by the state authorities upon the welfare of who are well housed, well fed and well treated, is almost maternal. subsequent law ministers, particularly
Shanti Bhushan, initiated a series of measures to bring judicial appointments within the power of the Chief Justice, and not the executive. After
Mohammad Hidayatullah, 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
Minorities Commission of India.
Academics While practising as an Advocate, Beg took on various faculty positions teaching various subjects: • Professor, Constitutional Law and Equity at
Meerut College (1943–1946) • Taught Law of Evidence, Human Law, and Ancient Law at
Allahabad University(1946–1963) • Standing Counsel to the
Allahabad University • 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:
Padma Vibhushan India's second highest civilian award for his contribution towards Law and Public Affairs ==References==