Deshmudre Mallappa Chandrashekhar

Hon'ble Chief Justice (Retd.) D. M. Chandrashekhar
8th Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court
In office 22 March 1978 – 25 September 1982
Nominated by	M. H. Beg
Appointed by	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Preceded by	G. K. Govinda Bhat C. Honniah (acting)
Succeeded by	K. Bhimaiah
23rd Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court
In office 10 May 1977 – 21 March 1978
Nominated by	M. H. Beg
Appointed by	B. D. Jatti
Preceded by	Kunwar Bahadur Asthana
Succeeded by	Satish Chandra
Judge of Allahabad High Court
In office 5 July 1976 – 9 May 1977
Nominated by	A. N. Ray
Appointed by	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Judge of Karnataka High Court
In office 20 September 1963 – 4 July 1976
Nominated by	B. P. Sinha
Appointed by	S. Radhakrishnan
Personal details
Born	(1920-09-26)26 September 1920 Tiptur, Karnataka
Died	3 October 2003(2003-10-03) (aged 83)
Parent	D. S. Mallapa
Education	Central College, Bangalore (B.A in economics), Government Law College, Bombay (LL.B), Central Hindu College (M.A. in economics)

Deshmudre Mallappa Chandrashekhar (26 September 1920 ― 3 October 2003) or D. M. Chandrashekhar was an Indian Judge and former Chief Justice of the High Courts of Allahabad and Karnataka.

Early life and education

Chandrashekhar was born on 26 September 1920 in Tiptur, Karnataka, he grew up in a household deeply engaged in public service. His father, D.S. Mallappa, was a prominent member of the Mysore Legislative Council whose frequent protests earned him the affectionate nickname "Walkout Mallappa". Imbibing this spirit of nationalism, a young Chandrashekhar actively participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942, enduring a period of imprisonment for his dedication to the freedom struggle. Academically gifted, he secured a law degree from Government Law College, Bombay, and later topped Banaras Hindu University with a gold medal while pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics under the vice-chancellorship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. After a very brief, unsuccessful brush with politics in the 1952 general elections, he anchored himself permanently to the legal profession, serving as a highly effective Government Pleader and Assistant Advocate General.

Career

Chandrashekhar’s judicial career began with his elevation to the bench of the Mysore High Court on 20 September 1963 as additional judge. He later became permanent judge on 15 March 1965. His tenure quickly became defined by his fierce defense of constitutional values. During the dark days of the 1975–1977 Emergency, he fearlessly presided over habeas corpus petitions, ruling that courts retained the power to review the legality and bona fides of political detentions. This bold defiance of an authoritarian executive resulted in his punitive transfer to the Allahabad High Court on 5 July 1976. Even in the face of institutional pressure, he maintained absolute judicial dignity. On one notable occasion, he firmly rejected a request by Chief Justice of India A. N. Ray to sit alongside High Court judges to inspect potential nominees, reminding the CJI that the High Court was not administratively subordinate to the Supreme Court. His commitment to fairness was absolute; he refused to dismiss cases simply because lawyers failed to appear, choosing instead to summon them to protect the rights of common litigants. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on 10 May 1977, and in an unparalleled act of judicial humility, he requested the CJI to withdraw his recommendation for his elevation to the Supreme Court.

Return to Karnataka High Court

When the Janata Party took power at the Centre, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court as the senior-most judge following retirement of Chief Justice Kunwar Bahadur Asthana on 10 May 1977. This appointment directly disrupted the expected line of succession for Justice Satish Chandra. Under normal circumstances, Justice Satish Chandra was next in line to become the Chief Justice.

Feeling bypassed, Satish Chandra resigned from his post. However, he subsequently withdrew his resignation. He did this under a mutual understanding that Justice Chandrashekhar would eventually return to his home state. This created a historic legal anomaly. It was the first time an Indian High Court judge resigned and then revoked his resignation. The unprecedented withdrawal triggered intense litigation. Justice Satish Chandra lost his initial case at the High Court level. However, he appealed and won a definitive victory in the Supreme Court. The landmark ruling was delivered in Union of India v. Gopal Chandra Misra (AIR 1978 SC 694).

Following the Supreme Court's verdict, Chief Justice Chandrashekhar stepped aside and returned to head the Karnataka High Court. This cleared the path for Justice Satish Chandra to officially assume the mantle of Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. Justice Satish Chandra later went on to serve as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

He later returned to his home state, serving as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court until his retirement on 25 September 1982.

Post retirement and death

In his post-retirement life, He lived as a devout Gandhian, treating his time and resources as public trusts. He deliberately conducted arbitration proceedings out of Gandhi Bhavan to cut down costs for litigants, and once famously moved out of London's luxurious Hotel Savoy into the modest Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan during an official trip to avoid a criminal waste of public funds. He valued community welfare so deeply that he declined a civic felicitation in his hometown, asking that the funds collected be spent on local municipal infrastructure instead. Supported entirely by his equally altruistic wife, Umadevi, his final acts mirrored his lifelong philosophy of selflessness. Upon his passing on 3 October 2003, his savings were entirely donated to charity, his eyes were sent to an eye bank, and his body was donated to medical research at M. S. Ramaiah Medical College. He left behind an untarnished legacy as a moral compass for the Indian judiciary.