K. S. Hegde was born in Kowdoor village and had his early education at Karkala and Mangalore. Thereafter, he pursued his collegiate education in Madras at the Presidency College and got his B.A (Honors) in Economics and later, a Degree in Law from the Government Law College, Madras.
He began his legal practice at Karkala in 1936 and later moved to Mangalore, where he was appointed Public Prosecutor of South Kanara district in 1948. He was elected Member of the First Council of States (now known as the Rajya Sabha). In 1954, he represented India at the General Assembly of the United Nations. He then became a Judge of the Mysore High Court. In 1966, he was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh High Court. He held this office till he was elevated to the post of Judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1967. However, he resigned from this office in 1973 in protest against the supersession of senior judges in the appointment of the Chief Justice of India. In 1977, Justice K S Hegde was elected to the Lok Sabha and was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
He held this office till 1980. After a distinguished career, he retired from public life and settled at Nitte to relentlessly work for the upliftment and empowerment of the rural people. Justice K S Hegde passed away on May 25, 1990.
Nitte Education Trust(R) (NET) Mangalore is a distinguished trust in the field of education in the state of Karnataka, INDIA. The Institutions under NET include Nitte deemed University and colleges for engineering, medicine, dental, management, architecture, and schools.
Nitte Education Trust was founded in the year 1979 by the committed philanthropist and legal luminary, Justice K S Hegde, who strongly believed that education was pivotal to the progress of a community. The president of the trust Mr. N V Hegde and an eminent educationist Dr. N R Shetty, share the views of Justice K S Hegde.
