Early Life & Education

Mahabir Pershad Jain hailed from a business family of Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi. After completing a degree in Mathematics from Old Hindu College, Delhi University, he joined his family business. Being the only son of the family, he bore responsibility of his three sisters.

In 1945, he pursued LLB from Faculty of Law, Delhi University, and passed the same as a gold medalist. He then earned a LLM degree from the same college. In 1954, he became the first Indian to study Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) on scholarship, at Yale University, United States of America. Hi name is still ensrishned in gold, on the walls of the University.

Notable Publications

During his teaching career, he authored various books on constitution and administrative law. Over the years, these have been edited/ updated by notable jurists.

    1. Jain M.P., M.P. Jain’s Indian Constitutional Law [Lexis Nexis Publications]. Edited by Justice Ruma Pal (Retd.) and Justice Jasti Chelameswar (Retd) and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu. Available on Amazon here.
    2. Jain S.N., and Jain M.P., Principles of Administrative Law [Lexis Nexis Publications]. Edited by Ms. Amita Dhanda. Available on Amazon here.
    3. Jain M.P., Outlines of India Legal and Constitutional History [Lexis Nexis Publications]. Edited by Justice G.B. Patnaik, Mr. Yashobant Das and Ms. Rita Das. Available on Amazon here.
    4. Jain M.P., M.P. Jain’s Administrative Law of Malaysia and Singapore [Malayan Law Journal Pvt. Ltd.]. Also published by [LexisNexis Publishing (Va)]. Available on Amazon here.
    5. Jain M.P., A treatise on Administrative Law [Wadhwa and Co.]. Available at National Library of Australia.
    6. Jain M.P., Halsbury’s Law of India: Administrative Law Volume I [Lexis Nexis Publications].
    7. Jain M.P., The Code of Civil Procedure [LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa]. Available on Amazon here.
    8. Jain M.P., Lokpal: ombudsman in India by M. P. Jain [Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies].

His select journal publications include:

    1. Jain M.P., Reform Of Administrative Law in Australia (1973). Available on JSTOR here.
    2. Jain M.P., Article 19(1)(a): Freedom of the Press (1973). Available on JSTOR here.
    3. Chowdhary B.S., reviewed by Jain M.P., Studies in Judicial History of British India by BS Chowdhary (1973). Available on JSTOR here.

 

Late Dr. (Prof) M.P. Jain

Late Dr. (Prof) M.P. Jain (1923 to 2004), was an eminent jurist of Constitutional Law and a coveted luminary in the fields of Administrative Law, and Indian Legal History. Being one of the founders of modern Indian legal education and research, he was the first writer to publish an enlarged commentary on Indian Constitutional Law. He was considered an authrity on Administratin Law in India, Malaysia and Singapore.

He had an extensive teaching experience of nearly five decades. He taught at several universities such as Banaras Hindu University and University of Delhi in India, as well as others in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. 

Teaching Career

Dr. Prof. MP Jain taught Public Administration for over five decades in various Indian universities, including Banaras Hindu University, Faculty of Law, Delhi University, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, and Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. He also served as the Dean of Faculty of Law, and was also a founding member of Indian Law Institute.

His internatioanl teaching career, spread over different countries. He was a professor in University of Canberra, University of Melbourne, University of Singapore, and University of Malaya. He further taught in Germany and London for a brief period. 

Testimonials & Memorials

Prominent jurists have written testimonials to honour the rich legal legacy left by M.P. Jain. A notable one by Dr. (Prof) Upendra Baxi is available here. 

Also, many celebrated jurists have delivered memorial lectures, organised by LexisNexis in collaboration with Indian Law Institute, and Indian Institute of Public Administration, along with his family. These include Justice Jasti Chelameswar (Retd.), Justice A.K. Sikri (Retd.), Senior Advocate Mr. KK Venugopal, Senior Advocate Mr. Salman Khurshid, Dr. (Prof) Upendra Baxi and Dr. (Prof) M.P. Singh. 

Indian Journal for Law and Policy, had also organized an essay writing competition in this regard, ‘Dr. M.P. Jain National Essay Competition’. Details available here.