https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=2401%3A4900%3A4489%3ABC6B%3A3428%3AADB2%3A87C9%3AEDE0Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]2026-09-08T03:23:52ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mehr_Chand_Mahajan&diff=41796Mehr Chand Mahajan2021-02-20T20:02:42Z<p>2401:4900:4489:BC6B:3428:ADB2:87C9:EDE0: /* Other positions of note */</p>
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<div>{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| name = Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan<br />
| office = Chief Justice of India<br />
| order = 3rd<br />
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable<br />
| honorific-suffix = <br />
| image = Justice_Mehr_Chand_Mahajan.jpg<br />
| alt = <br />
| caption = <br />
| appointer = [[Rajendra Prasad]]<br />
| predecessor = [[M. Patanjali Sastri]]<br />
| successor = [[Bijan Kumar Mukherjea]]<br />
| birth_place = 23 December 1889 [[Kangra district|Kangra]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br><small>(now in [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]])</small><br />
| death_date = 5 April 1967 (aged 77)<br />
| term_start = 4 January 1954<br />
| term_end = 22 December 1954<br />
| office2 = [[Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
| term_start2 = 15 October 1947<br />
| term_end2 = 5 March 1948<br />
| predecessor2 = [[Janak Singh]]<br />
| successor2 = [[Sheikh Abdullah]]<br />
| Son = Vikram Mahajan<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan''' (1889–1967) was the third Chief Justice of the [[Supreme Court of India]]. Prior to that he was the Prime Minister of the state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] during the reign of Maharaja [[Hari Singh]] and played a key role in the accession of the state to [[India]]. He was the [[Indian National Congress]] nominee on the [[Radcliffe Line|Radcliffe Commission]] that defined the boundaries of India and [[Pakistan]].<br />
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Justice Mahajan made his name as an accomplished [[lawyer]], a respected [[judge]], and an influential [[politician]]. As a judge he was incisive and forthright and had many leading judgements to his credit.<br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Mehr Chand Mahajan was born on 23 December 1889 at Tika [[Nagrota Bagwan|Nagrota]] in the [[Kangra district]] of Punjab, [[British India]] (now In Himachal Pradesh). His father, Lala Brij Lal, was an advocate, who later established a reputed legal practice at [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharmsala]].<ref name=Rohmetra>Ravi Rohmetra, [http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/mehr-chand-mahajan-pm-jk/ Mehr Chand Mahajan as PM of J&K], Daily Excelsior, 23 December 2016.</ref><br />
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After completing middle school, Mahajan went to study in the [[Government College, Lahore]], 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.<ref name=Rohmetra/><br />
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== Career as a lawyer ==<br />
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]]. He then practiced law in [[Lahore]] from 1918 to 1943. During his time there, he served as president of the High Court Bar Association of Lahore (1938 to 1943).<br />
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==Justice of Punjab High Court ==<br />
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He became a Justice in the pre-independence [[Lahore High Court|Punjab High Court]]. While he was serving there, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir called him to [[Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1947–1948#Pakistan's_preparations,_Maharaja's_manoeuvring|become his Prime Minister for the negotiations regarding merger with India]].<ref>Mahajan, Mehr Chand (1963), Looking Back: The Autobiography of Mehr Chand Mahajan, Former Chief Justice of India, Asia Publishing House, pp 123.</ref><br />
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==Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir==<br />
Mahajan visited Kashmir on invitation of the Maharani in September 1947 and was asked to be the Prime Minister of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/what-soured-the-promise-of-kashmir/cid/1686431|title=What soured the promise of Kashmir|website=www.telegraphindia.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref> Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India in October 1947 and Mahajan thus became the 1st Prime Minister of the Indian state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], serving in that post until 5 March 1948.<br />
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== Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India ==<br />
Mahajan took office as the third [[Chief Justice of India]] 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.<br />
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== Other positions of note ==<br />
* Director, [[Punjab National Bank]], 1933–43<br />
* Pres. D.A.V. College, Managing Committee, 1938–43<br />
* Fellow and Syndic, [[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]], 1940–47<br />
* Judge, [[Lahore High Court]], 1943<br />
* All India Fruit Products Association Bombay Session, 1945<br />
* Member, R.I.N. Mutiny Commission, 1946<br />
* 1947 Dewan of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] State 1947-48<br />
* Judge, East [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] High Court<br />
* Punjab Boundary Commission, 1947<br />
* Syndic, East Punjab University, 1947–50<br />
* Constitutional Adviser to His Highness the Maharaja of [[Bikaner]], 1948<br />
* Hon. Degree of LL.D., Punjab University; 1948<br />
* Member, Fruit Development Board, Punjab<br />
* Commission on Belgaum (dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra), 1967<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/mcmahajan.htm Mehr Chand Mahajan]<br />
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{{Succession box<br />
| before = [[Janak Singh]]<br />
| title = [[Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
| years = 1947–1948<br />
| after = [[Sheikh Abdullah]]<br />
}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
{{s-start}}<br />
{{S-legal}}<br />
{{succession box | title=[[Chief Justice of India]] | before=[[M. Patanjali Sastri]] | after=[[Bijan Kumar Mukherjea]] | years=3 January 1954 – 22 December 1954}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
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{{Chief Justices of India}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahajan, Mehr Chand}}<br />
[[Category:Chief Justices of India]]<br />
[[Category:1889 births]]<br />
[[Category:1967 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]<br />
[[Category:People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict]]<br />
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