H.J. Kania: First Chief Justice of India

On August 14, 1947, the first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad appointed Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania as the first Chief Justice of India. He held the position until November 5, 1951. Unfortunately, he died on 6 Novemebr, 1951, while serving in his office.

Personal Details

Justice Kania was born in Surat, Gujarat in a middle-class family. His father, Jekisundas Kania, was a Sanskrit professor who later served as the principal of Samaldas College in the princely state of Bhavnagar. His grandfather had served as a revenue officer for the British government in Gujarat. His older brother, Hiralal Jekisundas Kania, was also a lawyer, and Madhukar Hiralal Kania, who succeeded him as Chief Justice in 1987, is a Supreme Court judge. After earning his BA from Samaldas College in 1910, Kania went on to pursue his LLB and LLM degrees from the Government Law College in Bombay, respectively, in 1912 and 1913. In 1915, Kania started practising law in the Bombay High Court, where she later married Kusum Mehta, a descendant of Sir Chunilal Mehta, a former member of the governor of Bombay's executive council.

Professional Life

On August 14, 1947, Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania was appointed as its first Chief Justice of India. He held the position until November 5, 1951.

Kania temporarily held the position of acting editor for the Indian Law Reports. He was appointed as an additional judge on the Bombay High Court in June 1931 and served there until March 1933, after briefly serving as an interim judge on the court in 1930. After that, Kania spent another three months practising law before being elevated to associate judge in June. In the list of 1943 birthday honours, Kania received a knighthood. When Chief Justice Sir John Beaumont retired, Kania—by that point, was the senior associate judge at the High Court, took over. However, because Beaumont was prejudiced against Indians, he passed Kania over in favour of the next in line, Sir John Stone.

Stone accepted Beaumont's recommendation, even though he personally opposed leaving Kania out. However, from May 1944 to September 1944 and from June 1945 to October 1945, Kania served as acting chief justice. On June 20, 1946, he received a promotion to associate judge at the Federal Court of India, which was then presided over by Sir Patrick Spens (later Lord Spens). On August 14, 1947, Spens announced his retirement, and Kania took over as Chief Justice. Kania was chosen to serve as the Supreme Court of India's first Chief Justice when the country became a republic on January 26, 1950. He administered the oath to Dr Rajendra Prasad, India's first president, in his capacity as Chief Justice. On November 6, 1951, at the age of 61, he suffered a sudden heart attack while he was still in office.

The Indian Constitution established the position of the chief justice, and Justice H.J. Kania served as the first chief justice. There was no one from whom he could have inherited the post because H.J. Kania created the post. He was a kind man who contributed to the constitution's drafting and was the first to provide the foundation for the tasks and responsibilities that are carried out in accordance with the constitution. He held the position for two years before being superseded by Justice M. Patanjali Shastri, who held it for three years before being succeeded by Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan. One of the most esteemed positions is that of Chief Justice.

Major Judgements

AK GOPALAN V. STATE OF MADRAS (1950): This upheld the Preventive Detention Act’s legality. This act's Section 14 was ruled invalid. The Supreme Court ruled that following the law's rules does not equate to receiving due process of law. Chief Justice Hiralal Kania was a member of the majority that decided this case, which had a 5:1 vote.

COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, BOMBAY V. AHMEDBHAI UMARBHAI & CO.(1950): Chief Justice Kania provided a thorough ruling that included the definitions of the terms separate unit, profit, and income as they are used in the Income Tax Act. He added that it is incorrect to argue that a man is only eligible for the advantages of the Act if all three of his commercial activities—manufacturing, trading, and even exporting—take place in an Indian state because, in some situations, his place of business is outside of India.

DELHI LAWS ACT, 1912 OR IN RE V. PART ‘C’ STATES(1951): Chief Justice Kania, who was a member of the minority in this decision, stated that if a legislative authority passes these three-level criteria, it can transmit power regardless of whether it is sovereign or subordinate:

• The authority granted must fall under the body's legislative authority.

• The document that establishes such a legislative body shouldn't negate the delegation.

• If the act forbids such an organisation, it does not create a new legislative body to carry out the same duties.

A 5:2 majority of the judges on a 7-judge panel ruled that the Indian constitution does not include a provision for the separation of powers. A new parallel authority cannot be established by Parliament. Power delegation is subject to a predetermined cap. The essential functions cannot be assigned by the legislator. Only auxiliary duties may be assigned to others.

FAQs

Q1. Who had appointed justice H J Kania as the Chief Justice of India?

Ans. HJ Kania was appointed as the Chief Justice of India by the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 28 January 1950.

Q2. Before being appointed as the chief justice of India, what post did Justice Kania hold?

Ans. HJ Kania, who was appointed as the first Chief Justice of India after the Indian Constitution came into effect, he was a prominent lawyer and judge and had served as a Judge of the Bombay High Court before being appointed as the Chief Justice of India. He was also a member of the drafting committee for the Indian Constitution.

Mukesh Kumar

Updated on: 27-Jan-2023

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