H. J. Kania

Harilal Jekisundas Kania
Justice Kania in 1951
1st Chief Justice of India
In office 26 January 1950 – 6 November 1951
Appointed by	Rajendra Prasad
Succeeded by	M. Patanjali Sastri
Personal details
Born	3 November 1890 Surat, British India
Died	6 November 1951 (aged 61)
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Government Law College, Mumbai , Government Law College, Chennai
Religion	Hinduism

Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania (3 November 1890 – 6 November 1951) was the first Chief Justice of India, dying in office in 1951.^[1]

Biography

Kania was born to a middle-class family at Surat. His grandfather had been a revenue officer in Gujarat with the British Government, and his father Jekisundas was a Sanskrit professor and later principal of Samaldas College in the princely state of Bhavnagar. His elder brother Hiralal Jekisundas was also a barrister whose son Madhukar Hiralal Kania became a Supreme Court judge in 1987, and subsequently Chief Justice. Kania took his BA from Samaldas College in 1910, followed by an LLB from Government Law College, Bombay in 1912 and an LLM from the same institution in 1913. He began to practise as a barrister at the Bombay High Court in 1915, subsequently marrying Kusum Mehta, the daughter of Sir Chunilal Mehta, sometime member of the executive council of the Governor of Bombay."^[2]

For a time, Kania served as acting editor of the Indian Law Reports. Briefly serving as an acting judge on the Bombay High Court in 1930, he was appointed an additional judge on the same court in June 1931, serving until March 1933. Kania then returned to the bar for three months until he was promoted to associate judge in June. In 1943, Kania was knighted in that year's Birthday Honours list.^[3] By then the most senior associate judge at the High Court, he was intended to succeed Chief Justice Sir John Beaumont upon the latter's retirement; however, as Beaumont was biased against Indians, he passed Kania over in favour of the next in line, Sir John Stone. While Stone was personally against Kania being passed over, he accepted Beaumont's nomination. However, Kania served as acting chief justice from May–September 1944 and from June–October 1945. He was promoted to associate judge of the Federal Court, then headed by Sir Patrick Spens (later Lord Spens) on 20 June 1946. Spens retired on 14 August 1947, and Kania succeeded him as Chief Justice. After India became a republic on 26 January 1950, Kania was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. Acting as Chief Justice he read oath to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India's first President. He died in office of a sudden heart attack on 6 November 1951, aged 61. ^[4]

References

1. "Former Hon'ble Chief Justices' of India: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania". Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
2. "Mr. Harilal Kania Dead: First Indian Chief Justice At Centre". Times of India. 11 July 1951.
3. "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". London Gazette: 2422. 28 May 1943.]
4. Gardbois Jr., George H. (2011). Judges of the Supreme Court of India 1950-1989. Oxford University Press. pp. 13–20. ISBN 978-0-19-807061-0. Retrieved 2016-01-20.

External links

• "Biography of H. J. Kania". Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
• "H.J. Kania Memorial Library". The Government Law College, Mumbai. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
• H. Gadbois, Jr., George (February 1969). "Indian Supreme Court Judges: A Portrait". Law & Society Review (Blackwell Publishing) 3 (2/3): 317–336. JSTOR 3053006.