Syed Mahmood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hon'ble Puisne Judge Syed Mahmood
Puisne Judge of Allahabad High Court
In office 1887–1893
Personal details
Born	24 May 1850 Delhi, Mughal Empire
Died	8 May 1903(1903-05-08) (aged 52) Sitapur, United Provinces, British India
Children	Ross Masood
Parent	Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Syed Mahmood (born 24 May 1850 – died 8 May 1903) was a very important judge in British India. He served as a judge in the Allahabad High Court from 1887 to 1893. Before that, he worked as a temporary judge several times starting in 1882.

Syed Mahmood was the first Indian person to be appointed as a High Court judge in Allahabad. He was also the first Muslim to hold such a position during the British Raj. He helped his father, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, create the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. This college later became the famous Aligarh Muslim University.

As a judge, his decisions were very important. They are still studied in legal reports from his time. He also helped create new laws. He wrote detailed notes on proposed laws for the government councils. From 1896 to 1898, Syed Mahmood was a member of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh Legislative Council.

Learning and Education

Syed Mahmood was born in Delhi on May 24, 1850. He was the second son of Syed Ahmad Khan. He studied in different cities like Moradabad and Aligarh. These were places where his father worked for the government.

He also attended Government College in Delhi. Later, he studied at Queen's College in Benares. In 1868, he passed his final exams at the University of Calcutta. After that, he received a special scholarship from the British government. This allowed him to study in England.

In 1869, Mahmood joined Lincoln's Inn, a famous place for law students. He became a lawyer, or "called to the Bar," in April 1872. Around the same time, from 1870, he studied different languages. He learned Latin, Greek, and other ancient languages at Christ's College, Cambridge. However, he did not complete a degree there.

His Career as a Lawyer and Judge

After returning to India, Syed Mahmood became a barrister in 1872. He worked at the High Court in Allahabad. He was the first Indian to achieve this in that court. He practiced law in Allahabad until 1878.

The next year, he became a District and Sessions Judge in Oudh. This appointment was made by the Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton. This was his main job until 1887. That's when he became a full judge at the High Court in Allahabad. He also briefly helped with legal work in Hyderabad State in 1881.

In 1882, Syed Mahmood first worked as a temporary judge at the High Court. The new Viceroy, Lord Ripon, strongly supported him. He served as a temporary judge three more times. Finally, in 1887, he became a permanent judge.

People at the time thought he was very talented. He knew Arabic, which helped him understand Muslim law. His judgments were clear and lively. He wrote long and detailed judgments. Many of these were published in legal reports.

However, his opinions were often disagreed with by other judges. Most of these judges were British. His long judgments and frequent disagreements sometimes caused problems. This led to his early retirement in 1893.

After retiring from being a judge, he went back to working as a barrister. He worked in Lucknow. He also served on the North-Western Provinces and Oudh Legislative Council from 1896 to 1898.

Helping with Education

After studying in England, Syed Mahmood returned to India in 1872. He wrote a plan for a self-supporting Muslim college. He based his idea on what he saw at Cambridge University.

He then helped his father, Sir Syed, establish the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He continued to be very involved in running the college. This was true even while he worked as a lawyer and judge. In 1883, he went back to England to find Theodore Beck. Beck became the school's principal.

Syed Mahmood actively taught English classes at the college. He also helped start a law program there. He gave a large part of his own law book collection to create a legal library. In 1889, his father made him the Joint Secretary for the school's board of trustees.

After his father passed away in 1898, he took on more responsibilities. The next year, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk replaced him as Joint Secretary. Syed Mahmood was then given the role of Honorary President.

Syed Mahmood also worked on other educational projects. In 1882, he was appointed to the Education Commission. This group looked into the state of education across India. He also participated in the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference. He gave talks on the history of English education in India in 1893 and 1894.

His Family

In 1888, Syed Mahmood married Musharraf Jahan. She was the daughter of Nawab Khwajah Sharfuddin Ahmad. They had one son named Ross Masood.

Mahmood bought a house in Allahabad. This house was later sold to Motilal Nehru, who was also a lawyer there. The house was eventually renamed Swaraj Bhavan. Earlier, in 1876, Syed Mahmood had another home in Aligarh. This building now houses the Sir Syed Academy.

In 1900, Syed Mahmood moved to Sitapur. He lived there with his cousin, Syed Muhammad Ahmad, until he passed away in 1903.

His Writings

Syed Mahmood's first legal writing was an Urdu translation. It was about the 1872 Law of Evidence. This was published in 1876. He also revised his lectures from the Muhammadan Educational Conference. He published them in English as A History of English Education in India in 1895.

He also wrote articles for the Aligarh Institute Gazette and the Calcutta Review. But his most important writings were his legal judgments. About 300 of them were recorded in the Indian Law Reports: Allahabad Series between 1882 and 1892. Many of these judgments were very long, over twenty pages. People at the time noted that he was working on a large book about Muslim law after he retired. However, he did not finish it before he died.