Background
Dhawan was born on 2 July 1905 to Rai Bahadur Bali Ram Dhavan and hailed from Dera Ismail Khan, in Punjab, Pakistan.
Dhawan was born on 2 July 1905 to Rai Bahadur Bali Ram Dhavan and hailed from Dera Ismail Khan, in Punjab, Pakistan.
He was educated at the Forman Christian College, Lahore and in law at the Middle Temple, Inns of Court, London.
He served as a lecturer in law at the Allahabad University from 1940 to 1954. Dhavan then served as a judge of the Allahabad High Court from 28 June 1958 to 2 July 1967 and was appointed a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. Dhavan was then appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom for 1968-"69.
He was Governor of West Bengal from 19 September 1969 to 21 August 1971.
Dhavan"s gubernatorial tenure was marked by the imposition of two stints of President"s rule following the fall of the United Front government of Ajoy Mukherjee and the collapse of his third ministry in 1971.