In the late 19th century, Justice Syed Mahmood, son of the great social reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, and the first Indian judge of the Allahabad High Court, became an icon of judicial resistance to British colonialism at the apex of British power across the world. Appointed to the High Court at the remarkably young age of 32, he displayed during a tenure of just six years that law without a conscience was merely a facade for the perpetration of injustice. A number of his dissenting judgments became a template for reference by future generations.