N V Raghunath at 14:30, 23 February 2026

2026-02-23T14:30:55Z

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{{Short description|Indian judge and politician (1886 – 1959)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Saiyid Fazl Ali
| honorific-prefix = [[Sir]]
| honorific-suffix = [[OBE]]
| image = Saiyid Fazl Ali.jpg
| imagesize = 200
| alt =
| caption =
| office = [[List of governors of Assam|4th Governor of Assam]]
| term_start = 15 May 1956
| term_end = 22 August 1959
| predecessor = [[Jairamdas Daulatram]]
| successor = [[Chandreswar Prasad Sinha|C. P. Sinha]] (acting)
| 1blankname = [[Chief Minister]]
| 1namedata = {{ubl|[[Bishnuram Medhi]]|[[Bimala Prasad Chaliha|B. P. Chaliha]]}}
| office1 = [[List of Governors of Odisha|3rd Governor of Odisha]]
| term_start1 = 7 June 1952
| term_end1 = 9 February 1954
| predecessor1 = [[Asaf Ali]]
| successor1 = [[P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja]]
| 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 =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1959|08|22|1886|09|19|df=y}}
| death_place =
| parents = Saiyid Nazir Ali
| spouse = Kubra Begum
| children = 5 (including [[Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali|S. Murtaza Fazl Ali]])
| alma_mater = [[Muir Central College]]
}}

'''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 | 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==

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>

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}}

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>

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 ==
{{reflist}}
* Lok Sabha https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1806/1/lsd_02_08_22-08-1959.pdf page 52

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Jairamdas Daulatram]]
| title=[[Governor of Assam]] | years=1956–1959
| after=[[Chandreswar Prasad Sinha]]

}}
{{end}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}

{{authority control}}

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

Fazl Ali - Revision history

N V Raghunath at 14:30, 23 February 2026