Question

Which of the following Chief Justice of India has acted as President of India?
A. M. Hidayatullah
B. P.B.GajendraGadkar
C. P.N.Bhagwati
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The President of India is the head of the country's political, legislative and judicial authorities. Article 52 of the Constitution of India specifies that there must be a President of India. Article 53 states that all the executive powers of the Union shall be exerted either directly or by officers who are subordinate to him.

Complete answer:
The Chief Justice of the Republic of India is the head and Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of India and also the Highest ranking officer of the Indian Federal Judiciary. The Constitution of India bestows full powers on the President of India to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Parliament of India, appoints a Chief Justice to serve until the age of sixty-five, resigns, retires, is impeached and convicted, or dies.
The President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969[6] of India provides that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) shall act as President of India in the event of the offices of both the president and vice-president being vacant.
When President Zakir Hussain died in office, Vice-President V. V. Giri acted as President. Later on, Mr. Giri resigned as vice president. Justice Hidayatullah was sworn in as acting president of India on 20 July 1969 and served in that capacity until late V.V. Giri has been sworn in as the duly elected President of the Republic.

The Answer is Option A - M.Hidayatullah.

Note:Justice Hidayatullah was born in Betul, the former Central Provinces and Berar, on 17 December 1905. He was educated at Government High School, Raipur and Morris College, Nagpur. He went to England for further studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, and obtained a B.A. and M.A. Degrees from there. He was called to the Lincoln's Inn Bar in 1930 when he was only 25 years old. At that time, he was the youngest Attorney General, the youngest Chief Justice of the High Court and the youngest Judge of the Supreme Court of India.