25 Facts About Mohammad Hidayatullah

Mohammad Hidayatullah OBE was the 11th 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.

Mohammad Hidayatullah had served as the acting president of India from 20 July 1969 to 24 August 1969 and from 6 October 1982 to 31 October 1982 and from 25 July 1983 to 25 July 1983 and from 25 July 1984 to 25 July 1984.

Mohammad Hidayatullah is regarded as an eminent jurist, scholar, educationist, author and linguist.

Mohammad Hidayatullah's father was a poet of all-India repute who wrote poems in Urdu and probably it must have been from him that Justice Hidayatullah got his love for language and literature.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn when he was just 25 years old.

Mohammad Hidayatullah taught Jurisprudence and Mahomedan Law in the University College of Law at Nagpur and was the Extension Lecturer in English literature.

Mohammad Hidayatullah had the distinction of being the youngest Advocate General of an Indian state, Madhya Pradesh.

On 24 June 1946, Mohammad Hidayatullah was appointed as Additional Judge of that High Court of Central Provinces and Berar and on 13 September 1946 he was appointed as permanent judge of said High Court where he served until being elevated to Chief Justice of the Nagpur High Court in 1954 on 3 December 1954, being the youngest Chief Justice of a High Court.

Mohammad Hidayatullah retired from this position on 16 December 1970.

In 1982, when the then President Zail Singh went to the US for medical treatment, Vice-President Mohammad Hidayatullah officiated as president from 6 October 1982 to 31 October 1982.

Mohammad 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.

Many of these positions, as well as those of High Court Justice were held prior to Indian Independence, they were all considered service to Great Britain, thus Mohammad Hidayatullah was conferred the honour as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by King George VI in the 1946 King's Birthday Honours.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was Pro-Chancellor of the Delhi University from 1968 to 1970, Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia from 1969 to 1985, Chancellor of the Delhi and Punjab Universities between 1979 and 1984 and Chancellor of the Hyderabad University from 1986 to 1990.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was, at one time, a Member of the Executive Council of the World Assembly of Judges and of the Managing Committee of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was a Member of the International Council of Former Scouts and Guides, Brussels, and Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts Association of India.

Post-retirement, Mohammad Hidayatullah renewed his interest in Boy Scouts and served as Chief Scout of the All India Boy Scouts Association from 1982 to 1992.

Mohammad Hidayatullah held the posts of the President of Bombay Natural History Society and of the Patron of Schizophrenic Research Foundation of India and Commonwealth Society of India.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was a Member of the World Association for Orphans and Abandoned Children and a Settlor of the Jawaharlal Nehru-Cambridge University Trust.

Mohammad Hidayatullah represented India in International Conferences held in different countries and cities, such as, Washington, London, Geneva, Sydney, the Hague, Tokyo, Stockholm, Belgrade, Cairo and Bangkok.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was a scholar in Hindi, English, Urdu, Persian and French.

Mohammad Hidayatullah had working knowledge of some other Indian languages including Sanskrit and Bengali.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was the president of Indian Law Institute, International Law Association, Indian Society of International Law from 1968 to 1970.

Mohammad Hidayatullah presided the Indian Red Cross Society in 1982.

Mohammad Hidayatullah was closely associated with Hunger Project of USA, World Association of Orphans and Abandoned Children, and Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues.

In 1948, Mohammad Hidayatullah married Pushpa Shah, who was from a Jain family.