M. M. Ismail was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n politician who served as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu and a Chief Justice of the Madras High Court

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....

.

Early life

Ismail was born in Nagore

Nagore

Nagore is a town in the Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located approximately 16 km south of Karaikal and 4 km north of Nagapattinam. Tiruvarur , Mayiladuthurai , Muthupet are nearby towns. It has a population of approximately 90,000. The prime attraction is the renowned...

, Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 on February 8, 1921. He studied at the Madras Law College in 1945, after completing his mathematics (honours) degree from the Presidency College, Chennai

Presidency College, Chennai

Presidency College is an arts, law and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. Established as the Madras Preparatory School on October 15, 1840 and later, upgraded to a high school and then, graduate college, the Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges...

.

Work life

He was appointed as an additional judge at the Delhi High Court

Delhi High Court

The High Court of Delhi was established on 31 October 1966. The High Court of Delhi was established with four judges. They were Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. K. Kapur.-History:...

 in February 1967 and was transferred to the Madras High Court in November 1967. He became Chief Justice of the court on November 6, 1979. On July 8, 1981 he tendered his resignation, following his transfer to the Kerala High Court

Kerala High Court

High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Kochi...

 as its Chief Justice.

On October 27, 1980, Ismail was sworn-in as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu in the place of Prabhudas Patwari

Prabhudas Patwari

Prabhudas Patwari was an Indian lawyer, community activist, freedom fighter and a Gandhian follower.He was the governor of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu between 1977 and 1980. An advocate of abstinence and moral virtue, he was a teetotaler...

.

Legacy

Ismail was a learned Tamil scholar of Kamba Ramayana. As the president of the Kamban Kazhagam, he was responsible for organising literary festivals focussing on classical Tamil literature.

Death

Ismail died at Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

on Jan 17, 2005 after a long illness leaving behind him two sons and a daughter.