289. P. Habeeb Mohamed

First Muslim judge of the Travancore High Court of Kerala


P. Habeeb Mohamed (1899–1963) was born as the nephew of Vakkom Moulavi, the great social reformer of Kerala, Justice Habeeb Mohamed had his early education in Attingal High School, Trivandrum H.H.Maharaja's College, Trivandrum (the present University College), Law College,Trivandrum. He was a contemporary of the late K.M.Seethi Sabib (in Law College), who became the Speaker of the Kerala State Legislative Assembly.
Justice Habeeb Mohamed enrolled as an advocate in Trivandrum first. For six months, he worked as a Municif in Trivandrum before he became the district judge of Trivandrum. Justice Habeeb Mohamed served as district judge in Kottayam, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Trivandrum. He became judge of the High Court in 1946 and moved his career to Ernakulam. Justice Habeeb Mohammed retired as the judge of the High Court in 1951. Later he became active in the Muslim League for sometime. He died in 1963. Justice Habeeb Mohammed had two daughters. The elder daughter, the late Subaida, was married to Mohamed Ghani, the son of Mohammed Mustafa Sahib, former MLC of Madras. They had a daughter, Aysha, who lives in Nagercoil with her husband, V.Omer Ali. The younger daughter of Justice Habeeb Mohammed, Naseema, was married to the late K.Seethi Mohammed, the only son of the late K.M.Seethi Sahib, Habeeb Mohamed's contemporary. Naseema lives n Trivandrum with her son K.M.Althaf.

 Notable Contribution

Justice Habeeb Mohamed's notable contribution while in service was his famous judgment on the Absabeevi's case while serving as District Judge of Alleppy. His verdict that Muslim woman had the right to get divorced from her husband was remarkable at a time when the Islamic Sharia was still a matter of controversy in respect of its alleged bias against women.


Source : Wikipedia