Chaudhary Khurshid Ahmed

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Chaudhary Khurshid Ahmed
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1988 – 1989 (by re-election)
Preceded byChaudhary Rahim Khan
Succeeded byBhajan Lal
Personal details
Born(1934-06-20)20 June 1934
Village Dhulawat, Taoru, British India
Died17 February 2020(2020-02-17) (aged 85)
Political partyLok Dal
Other political
affiliations
Indian National Congress
ChildrenChaudhary Aftab Ahmed
EducationBachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Legislative Law
Alma materDelhi University
OccupationPolitician, lawyer

Chaudhary Khurshid Ahmed (20 June 1934 – 17 February 2020) was an Indian politician and a practicing lawyer[1] before the Supreme Court of India, who served as Member of Lok Sabha in a by-poll election from the Lokdal party proceeding the death of the previous office holder, Chaudhary Rahim Khan.[2] Ahmed was a Member of Parliament for no longer than 8 months.[3][4] He was also elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly to the Punjab and Haryana assembly five times.

Early life[edit]

Khurshid Ahmed was born to Chaudhary Kabir Ahmed and Faizan Begum. After independence, his father was twice elected to Haryana assembly.[3]

Personal life[edit]

Khurshid Ahmed married Firdos Begum in 1961. He had three sons and one daughter – Aftab Ahmed, Mehtab Ahmed, Anjum Ahmed and Rukhsana. Aftab Ahmed was elected as MLA from Nuh constituency on the ticket of Congress Party and is a former Cabinet Minister in the Government of Haryana.[5] He was also the Vice-President of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. Mehtab Ahmed is practicing lawyer, while youngest son Anjum Ahmed is Practicing lawyer in High Court of Punjab & Haryana.[3]

Political career[edit]

He was elected to the state assembly five times and twice and represented the Faridabad constituency once, Lok Sabha from the Lokdal party as well.[3][6][7][8][9][10]

1962 Punjab Legislative Assembly
1968 Haryana Legislative Assembly (Cabinet Minister)
1977 Haryana Legislative Assembly
1979–82 Haryana Legislative Assembly (Cabinet Minister)
1982–84 Deputy Chairman, Planning Board, Haryana
1987 Haryana Legislative Assembly
1988 Lok Sabha (by-election)
1996 Haryana Legislative Assembly

He also held various positions in the Congress Party as well:[11][12]

1972–75 General Secretary, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee
1985–86 Vice President, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee
1997–2000 President District Congress Committee, Gurgaon

Controversies[edit]

Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed on 8 August, 1974[edit]

In 1972, Chaudhary Rahim Khan won his second term in Haryana's Legislative Assembly, defeating Khurshid Ahmed, who was a sitting minister at that time. Following his humiliating defeat, Khurshid Ahmed filed a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging Rahim Khan's election on various grounds of corrupt practices. The High Court ruled in favour of Ahmed, setting aside Rahim Khan's election and citing violations of sections 123(1), (2), and (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Khurshid Ahmed accused Rahim Khan of bribery (Section 123(1)), appealing to faith (Section 123(3)), and character assassination (Section 123(4)) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The court found evidence supporting the charges of appealing to voters' religion by calling Ahmed a non-believer and character assassination through the distribution of damaging handbills which stated that Khurshid Ahmed was a womaniser and committed Islamically illicit practices such as feeding Muslims pork, leading to the finding of corrupt practices of Rahim Khan under sections 123(3) and (4). Khan appealed the case to the Supreme Court of India, but the appeal was dismissed. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment, officially overturning Rahim Khan's 1972 election. This case, known as "Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed and Ors on 8 August, 1974", remains significant in Indian legal history and is still included in the curriculum of many Indian law schools today.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1], scbindia
  2. ^ Fatehabad farmer’s feat interests former minister, Tribune News Service, April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Haryana Assembly
  4. ^ Congress fields two first-timers, Poll First Round, Faridabad.
  5. ^ Savitri Jindal, Aftab Ahmed sworn into Haryana cabinet, Hindustan Times.
  6. ^ Haryana Vidhan Sabha Archived 15 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Who's Who.
  7. ^ Fatehabad farmer’s feat interests former minister, Tribune News Service.
  8. ^ INLD nominee has clear edge in Muslim-dominated Mewat, Hindustan Times.
  9. ^ INLD, Cong level ground in Mewat, Tribune News Service.
  10. ^ BJP faces tough task in Taoru.
  11. ^ Public meeting show of Cong unity, Tribune News Service.
  12. ^ 73-member HPCC announced.
  13. ^ Supreme Court of the India. Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed & Ors, 1975 AIR 290, 1975 SCR (1) 643, main.sci.gov.in, 8 August, 1974