Fazl Ali: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Indian judge and politician (1886 – 1959)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date = September 2013}}
 
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Hon’ble Sir
| name = Saiyid Fazl Ali
| name        = Fazl Ali
| honorific-prefix = [[Sir]]
| image      =  
| honorific-suffix = [[OBE]]
| alt         =  
| image = Saiyid Fazl Ali.jpg
| caption     =  
| imagesize = 200
|office           = [[List of Governors of Odisha|3rd Governor of Odisha]]
| alt =  
|term_start        = 7 June 1952
| caption =  
|term_end          = 9 February 1954
| office = [[List of governors of Assam|4th Governor of Assam]]
|predecessor        = [[Asaf Ali]]
| term_start = 15 May 1956
|successor          = [[P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja]]
| term_end = 22 August 1959
| office1      = Judge of [[Supreme Court of India]]
| predecessor = [[Jairamdas Daulatram]]
| term_start1  = 15 October 1951
| successor = [[Chandreswar Prasad Sinha|C. P. Sinha]] (acting)
| term_end1    = 30 May 1952
| 1blankname = [[Chief Minister]]
| nominator1  =
| 1namedata = {{ubl|[[Bishnuram Medhi]]|[[Bimala Prasad Chaliha|B. P. Chaliha]]}}
| appointer1  = [[President of India|President]]  
| office1 = [[List of Governors of Odisha|3rd Governor of Odisha]]
| successor1  =  
| term_start1 = 7 June 1952
|office2 = Chief Justice of [[Patna High Court]]
| term_end1 = 9 February 1954
| termstart2    = 19 January 1943
| predecessor1 = [[Asaf Ali]]
| termend2      = 14 October 1946
| successor1 = [[P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja]]
| birth_date = 19 September 1886
| 1blankname1 = [[Chief Minister]]
| 1namedata1 = [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]
| office2 = Judge of [[Supreme Court of India]]
| term_start2 = 28 January 1950
| term_end2 = 18 September 1951
| appointer2 = [[Rajendra Prasad]]
| office3 = Judge of [[Federal Court of India]]
| termstart3 = 9 June 1947
| termend3 = 27 January 1950
| appointer3 = [[George VI]]
| office4 = [[List of former chief justices of the high courts of India#Patna High Court|5th Chief Justice]] of [[Patna High Court]]
| termstart4 = 19 January 1943
| termend4 = 14 October 1946
| predecessor4 = [[Arthur Trevor Harries]]
| successor4 = Clifford Monmohan Agarwala
| appointer4 = [[George VI]]
| office5 = Judge of [[Patna High Court]]
| termstart5 = 11 April 1928
| termend5 = 19 January 1943
| appointer5 = [[George V]]
| status6 = Acting Chief Justice
| termstart6 = 7 May 1938
| termend6 = 9 October 1938
| appointer6 = [[George VI]]
| predecessor6 = [[Courtney Terrell]]
| successor6 = [[Arthur Trevor Harries]]
| birth_date = 19 September 1886
| birth_place =  
| birth_place =  
| death_date = {{death date and age|1959|08|22|1886|09|19|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1959|08|22|1886|09|19|df=y}}
| death_place =  
| death_place =  
|parents = Saiyid Nazir Ali <small>(father)</small> Kubra Begum <small>(mother)</small>
| parents = Saiyid Nazir Ali
| spouse = Kubra Begum
| children = 5 (including [[Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali|S. Murtaza Fazl Ali]])
| alma_mater = [[Muir Central College]]
}}
}}


[[Khan Bahadur]] [[Sir]] [[Sayyid|Syed]]  '''Fazl Ali''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (19 September 1886 – 22 August 1959) was an Indian judge,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/1_ssfali.htm|title=Home &#124; SUPREME COURT OF INDIA}}</ref> the governor of two Indian states ([[Assam]] and [[Odisha]]), and the head of the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] which determined the boundaries of several Indian states in the December 1953.Their commission submitted the report in September 1953 broadly accepting the language as the basis of reorganisation of states.
'''Sir Saiyid Fazl Ali''', [[OBE]] (19 September 1886 – 22 August 1959) was an Indian judge,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/1_ssfali.htm|title=Home &#124; SUPREME COURT OF INDIA}}</ref> the governor of two Indian states ([[Assam]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assam Legislative Assembly - Governors since 1937 |url=http://assamassembly.gov.in/governor-list.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210816221545/http://assamassembly.gov.in/governor-list.html |archive-date=2021-08-16 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=assamassembly.gov.in}}</ref> and [[Odisha]]), and the head of the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] which determined the boundaries of several Indian states in December 1953.
 
The commission submitted its report in September 1953, broadly accepting language as the basis of reorganisation of states.  


==Career==
==Career==
Fazl belonged to an aristocratic ''Zamindar'' (landlord) family of [[Bihar]] state. He studied law and began practicing. Eventually he was raised to the judiciary. Sir Fazl Ali was successively given the title of [[Khan Sahib]] first and of [[Khan Bahadur]] later. In 1918, he was made an Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE). He was knighted in the New Year's Honours list of 1941 and invested with his knighthood on 1 May 1942 by the [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]], [[Lord Linlithgow]].<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30730/supplement/6748 London Gazette, 4 June 1918]</ref><ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35029/supplements/2 London Gazette, 1 January 1941]</ref><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35544/page/1916 The London Gazette, 1 May 1942]</ref>
India became independent in 1947. Under the new dispensation, Fazl Ali was governor of Odisha from 1952 to 1956 and of Assam from 1956 to 1959. He died while serving as governor of Assam. Whilst in Assam, he made strenuous efforts to bring the disgruntled [[Nagaland|Naga]] tribals into the mainstream of society. He opened the first college in the Naga heartland in [[Mokokchung]], which is today known as '[[Fazl Ali College]]' in his honour. The College celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010.


Fazl Ali headed the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] that made recommendations about the reorganization of India's states. For his services to India, he was bestowed with the country's second-highest civilian honour, the [[Padma Vibhushan]], by the government of India.
Fazl belonged to an aristocratic [[Sayyid|''Syed'']] ''[[Zamindar]]'' family of [[Bihar]] state. He studied law and began practicing. Eventually he was raised to the judiciary. Sir Fazl Ali was successively given the title of [[Khan Sahib]] first and of [[Khan Bahadur]] later. In 1918, he was made an Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE). In April 1928 he was appointed as judge of [[Patna High Court]] and went on to serve as its acting chief justice in1938 and later as permanent chief justice in 1943.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LIST OF RETIRED CHIEF JUSICE |url=https://patnahighcourt.gov.in/retired_cj |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=patnahighcourt.gov.in}}</ref> He was elevated to then [[Federal Court of India]] on 9 June 1947 and later appointed as judge of [[Supreme Court of India]] upon its establishment on 26 January 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Justice Sir Saiyid Fazl Ali {{!}} Supreme Court of India {{!}} India |url=https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-sir-saiyid-fazl-ali/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250716085611/https://www.sci.gov.in/judge/justice-sir-saiyid-fazl-ali/ |archive-date=2025-07-16 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.sci.gov.in |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1951 he became the first judge to retire from Supreme Court of India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Judges {{!}} Supreme Court of India {{!}} India |url=https://www.sci.gov.in/former-judges/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251115144544/https://www.sci.gov.in/former-judges/ |archive-date=2025-11-15 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.sci.gov.in |language=en-US}}</ref> He was knighted in the [[1941 New Year Honours]] list and invested with his knighthood on 1 May 1942 by the [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]], [[Lord Linlithgow]].<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30730/supplement/6748 London Gazette, 4 June 1918]</ref><ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35029/supplements/2 London Gazette, 1 January 1941]</ref><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35544/page/1916 The London Gazette, 1 May 1942]</ref>


==Family and personal life==
India became independent in 1947 as the [[Dominion of India]]. Under the new dispensation of the Republic of [[India]], Sir Fazl Ali was [[Governor of Odisha]] from 1952 to 1954, and [[Governor of Assam]] from 1956 to 1959. He died while serving as Governor of Assam. Whilst in Assam, he made strenuous efforts to bring the disgruntled [[Nagaland|Naga]] tribals into the mainstream of society.{{Citation needed|date= August 2022}} He opened the first college in the Naga heartland in [[Mokokchung]], which is today known as '[[Fazl Ali College]]' in his honour. The College celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010.{{Citation needed|date= August 2022}}
Fazl Ali's eldest son, the late [[Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali]], followed in the footsteps of his father and took up the profession of law. In 1958, at age 38, he was elevated to the judiciary and appointed a judge of the [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] High Court. In 1966, he became the Chief Justice of the same court, thereby becoming one of the youngest holders of that high office; he was only 43. In 1975, he was made a Judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]], thus making for a very rare instance of father and son both being supreme court judges in India. He died in 1985 while yet a sitting judge of the supreme court.


Shri Fazl Ali was a lawyer and his principal career was on the Bench, a long career as a judge of the Patna High Court, then Chief Justice of Patna, then a judge of the Federal Court of India and then a judge of the Supreme Court of India; all together that covers a very long period of time. And he was a very distinguished judge, later too he became the Governor of Orissa. After that, for a period he served in an important commission, the States Re-organisation Commission. Then he went to Assam as Governor.
Over the course of his tenure on the Supreme Court, Fazl Ali authored 56 judgments and was a part of 113 benches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=S.F. Ali |url=https://www.scobserver.in/judges/justice-saiyid-fazl-ali/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Supreme Court Observer |language=en-US}}</ref> Notably, he dissented in two early free speech cases before the Supreme Court, [[Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras]] (1950) and [[Brij Bhushan v. State of Delhi]] (1950).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The First Eight |url=https://www.scobserver.in/75-years-of-sc/the-first-eight-judges-of-the-supreme-court/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Supreme Court Observer |language=en-US}}</ref>


There is hardly any office, certainly not the office of Governor in India which is more difficult and more exacting than that of the Governor
Fazl Ali headed the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] that made recommendations about the reorganization of India's states. For his services to India, he was bestowed with the country's second-highest civilian honour, the [[Padma Vibhushan]], by the government of India in 1956.
of Assam, because, apart from being the Governor of an important state, he is the Special Representative of the Government of India in regard to
tribal areas there and in regard now to the Naga Hills-Tuensang area. It is a very big loss, not only of a great Indian, a great public servant but of a person engaged in this important and delicate task of winning over really by his goodwill and affection many of those people
who are dissatisfied and who are troubled. Many will mourn his loss all over India including the people of the Naga Hills-Tuensang Division who will also greatly mourn his loss.<ref>https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1806/1/lsd_02_08_22-08-1959.pdf page 52</ref>


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
* Lokshaba https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1806/1/lsd_02_08_22-08-1959.pdf page 52
* Lok Sabha https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1806/1/lsd_02_08_22-08-1959.pdf page 52
* http://assamassembly.gov.in/governor-list.html


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[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of the Patna High Court]]
[[Category:Chief justices of the Patna High Court]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:Governors of Assam]]
[[Category:Governors of Assam]]
[[Category:Governors of Odisha]]
[[Category:Governors of Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Khan Bahadurs]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Indian Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]

Latest revision as of 20:00, 23 February 2026



Sir
Saiyid Fazl Ali
OBE
4th Governor of Assam
In office
15 May 1956 – 22 August 1959
Chief Minister
Preceded byJairamdas Daulatram
Succeeded byC. P. Sinha (acting)
3rd Governor of Odisha
In office
7 June 1952 – 9 February 1954
Chief MinisterNabakrushna Choudhuri
Preceded byAsaf Ali
Succeeded byP. S. Kumaraswamy Raja
Judge of Supreme Court of India
In office
28 January 1950 – 18 September 1951
Appointed byRajendra Prasad
Judge of Federal Court of India
In office
9 June 1947 – 27 January 1950
Appointed byGeorge VI
5th Chief Justice of Patna High Court
In office
19 January 1943 – 14 October 1946
Appointed byGeorge VI
Preceded byArthur Trevor Harries
Succeeded byClifford Monmohan Agarwala
Judge of Patna High Court
In office
11 April 1928 – 19 January 1943
Appointed byGeorge V
Acting Chief Justice
In office
7 May 1938 – 9 October 1938
Appointed byGeorge VI
Preceded byCourtney Terrell
Succeeded byArthur Trevor Harries
Personal details
Born19 September 1886
Died22 August 1959(1959-08-22) (aged 72)
Spouse(s)Kubra Begum
Children5 (including S. Murtaza Fazl Ali)
Parent(s)Saiyid Nazir Ali
Alma materMuir Central College

Sir Saiyid Fazl Ali, OBE (19 September 1886 – 22 August 1959) was an Indian judge,[1] the governor of two Indian states (Assam[2] and Odisha), and the head of the States Reorganisation Commission which determined the boundaries of several Indian states in December 1953.

The commission submitted its report in September 1953, broadly accepting language as the basis of reorganisation of states.

Career[edit | edit source]

Fazl belonged to an aristocratic Syed Zamindar family of Bihar state. He studied law and began practicing. Eventually he was raised to the judiciary. Sir Fazl Ali was successively given the title of Khan Sahib first and of Khan Bahadur later. In 1918, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In April 1928 he was appointed as judge of Patna High Court and went on to serve as its acting chief justice in1938 and later as permanent chief justice in 1943.[3] He was elevated to then Federal Court of India on 9 June 1947 and later appointed as judge of Supreme Court of India upon its establishment on 26 January 1950.[4] In 1951 he became the first judge to retire from Supreme Court of India.[5] He was knighted in the 1941 New Year Honours list and invested with his knighthood on 1 May 1942 by the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow.[6][7][8]

India became independent in 1947 as the Dominion of India. Under the new dispensation of the Republic of India, Sir Fazl Ali was Governor of Odisha from 1952 to 1954, and Governor of Assam from 1956 to 1959. He died while serving as Governor of Assam. Whilst in Assam, he made strenuous efforts to bring the disgruntled Naga tribals into the mainstream of society.[citation needed] He opened the first college in the Naga heartland in Mokokchung, which is today known as 'Fazl Ali College' in his honour. The College celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010.[citation needed]

Over the course of his tenure on the Supreme Court, Fazl Ali authored 56 judgments and was a part of 113 benches.[9] Notably, he dissented in two early free speech cases before the Supreme Court, Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras (1950) and Brij Bhushan v. State of Delhi (1950).[10]

Fazl Ali headed the States Reorganisation Commission that made recommendations about the reorganization of India's states. For his services to India, he was bestowed with the country's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, by the government of India in 1956.

External links[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Home | SUPREME COURT OF INDIA".
  2. ↑ "Assam Legislative Assembly - Governors since 1937". assamassembly.gov.in. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "LIST OF RETIRED CHIEF JUSICE". patnahighcourt.gov.in. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Justice Sir Saiyid Fazl Ali | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "Former Judges | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 November 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  6. ↑ London Gazette, 4 June 1918
  7. ↑ London Gazette, 1 January 1941
  8. ↑ The London Gazette, 1 May 1942
  9. ↑ "S.F. Ali". Supreme Court Observer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "The First Eight". Supreme Court Observer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
Government offices
Preceded by
Jairamdas Daulatram 		Governor of Assam
1956–1959 		Succeeded by
Chandreswar Prasad Sinha
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fazl_Ali&oldid=447450"
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