Mohammad Hidayatullah OBE pronunciation (Hindi: मुहम्मद हिदायतुल्लाह, Urdu: محمّد هدایة اللہ) (17 December 1905 – 18 September 1992) was the eleventh Chief Justice of India serving from 25 February 1968 to 16 December 1970, and the sixth Vice-President of India, serving from 31 August 1979 to 30 August 1984. He had also served as Acting President of India from 20 July 1969 to 24 August 1969 and from 6 October 1982 to 31 October 1982. He is well known as an eminent jurist, scholar, educationist, author, and linguist.
Early Life | Qualification
Hidayatullah was born in 1905 in the well-known family of Khan Bahadur Hafiz Mohammed Wilayatullah, an upper-class family. His grandfather Munshi Kudartullah was an advocate in Varanasi. His father was a prominent poet of all-India for poems in Urdu and probably due to genetic gift, Justice Hidayatullah got his love for language and literature. He was the Gold medallist of Aligarh Muslim University in 1897 besting famous mathematician Sir Ziauddin Ahmad, favorite of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He served till 1928 in ICS and from 1929–33 as a member of the Central Legislative Assembly. Hidaytullah's elder brothers Mohammed Ikramullah (ICS, later Foreign Secretary, Pakistan) and Ahmedullah (ICS, retired as Chairman, Tariff Board) were scholars as well as sportsmen.
Resuming Career
After completing primary education at the Government High School of Raipur in 1922, Hidayatullah attended Morris College in Nagpur, where he was nominated as the Phillip's Scholar in 1926. When he graduated in 1926, he was awarded the Malak Gold Medal. Following the trend of Indians studying British law abroad, Hidayatullah attended Trinity College at the University of Cambridge from 1927 to 1930 and obtained B.A. and M.A. Degrees from there. Here he secured the 2nd order of merit and was awarded a Gold Medal for his performance in 1930. He was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn when he was just 25 years old. He was awarded LL.D. (Honoris Causa) from University of the Philippines and D. Litt. (Honoris Causa) from the University of Bhopal (now Barkatullah University) and the University of Kakatiya. While at Cambridge, Hidayatullah was elected and served as the President of the Indian Majlis in 1929. Also being here, he pursued English and Law Tripos from the renowned Lincoln's Inn. In addition, he secured the place of Barrister-at-Law in 1930.
Hidayatullah was a scholar in Hindi, English, Urdu, Persian, and French. He had a working knowledge of some other Indian languages including Sanskrit and Bengali.
Presidency
During his term as the Chief Justice of India, the then-President of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain died suddenly, in harness, on 3 May 1969. Then-Vice President of India Mr.V. V. Giri became the acting President. Later, V V Giri resigned from both the posts, viz, acting President and Vice-President, as he became a candidate in the Presidential Election 1969. Justice M. Hidayatullah then served as the President of India for a short period from 20 July to 24 August, as the Constitution of India states that, in the absence of President and Vice-President, the CJI should act as the President. The visit of President of the United States Mr. Richard Nixon to India made his Presidential term historic.
Add ons
Hidayatullah was a scholar in Hindi, English, Urdu, Persian, and French. He had a litterly working knowledge of some other Indian languages including Sanskrit and Bengali.
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