By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : Professor Syed Tahir Mahmood, a renowned legal expert and former chairman of National Minorities Commission, was appointed member of the Law Commission of India. He took over as a "full-time Member" of the Commission Friday.
The appointment filled a post which had been lying vacant since September 1, 2006, when the 17th Commission concluded its term and the 18th Commission was constituted by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Earlier, on May 28, retired Supreme Court judge A.R. Lakshmanan took over as Chairman of the Commission, which sees itself as contributing to "reforming the Law for maximising justice in society and promoting good governance under the rule of law."
Professor Mahmood has been in the field of legal research, writing and teaching for about four decades. He began his career in Aligarh and later served the research faculty of the Indian Law Institute in Delhi. He joined the Faculty of Law at the Delhi University in 1974 and rose to the position of its Dean, which he occupied till the beginning of 1995. In 1996 the Government of India invited him to serve the National Commission for Minorities as its sixth Chairman, in which position he also became a member of the National Human Rights Commission. He served the Commission through three successive governments until November 1999. He was also an Expert-Member of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities besides being the NCM chairman.
Professor Mahmood has authored a large number of books on various aspects of law. His works on Hindu and Islamic laws are acclaimed at home and abroad. In his book Minorities Commission: Minor Role in Major Affairs, Professor Mahmood has taken a bird's eye view of the minority affairs across the country. In this first-hand account of the origin, development, working, powers, functions, shortcomings and handicaps of the Commission, Professor assesses its reports and contribution over 23 years, and critically evaluates its role in the affairs of the nation.