He was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in 1959 and commanded a platoon in Sikkim during the Sino-Indian War, winning a Yudh Seva Medal for his actions.

He was later a staff officer under the Directorate General of Military Operations and deputy commander of the 1st Armoured Division (India).

He served for a time as the Deputy Commandant of the Army War College, Mhow, before being promoted as Lieutenant General in 1991.

He was on trip to attend a social gathering of officers under the Dimapur Corps Headquarters when his Mi-17 helicopter ran into a mechanical failure after a thunderstorm and crashed, killing him, his wife, his MA Col MN Ahmed (who was also his brother in law) and Lieutenant Lakshman Tyagi, his orderly Naik G. Thyagarajan, his personal bodyguard Havildar S. Vasudevan, and the IAF crew manning the chopper.

His brother Major General Sultan Mahmood (retd) was in the Artillery and an alumnus of the 20th course of the National Defence Academy.