Jagdeep S Chhokar, a co-founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and a strong advocate for electoral reforms, passed away after a heart attack early Friday. He was 80.
It is learnt that Chhokar had donated his body to a hospital for medical research.
Chhokar, a retired professor of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, had founded ADR along with colleagues in 1999, and led its efforts to increase transparency in politics.
Over the past nearly three decades, ADR’s efforts have led to several notable Supreme Court judgments having an impact on elections, including the 2002 judgment that made it mandatory for Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections candidates to declare their pending criminal cases, finances, and educational background.
In February 2024, the Supreme Court held the government’s electoral bond scheme unconstitutional in a case in which ADR was one of the petitioners. In April 2024, another judgment on an ADR petition led to the introduction of a new system for checking and verifying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in an election, at the request of the runners-up.
Reacting to the news, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said on X: “The loss of Prof Jagdeep Chhokar is tragic. He spearheaded the Association of Democratic Reforms, which has rendered yeoman service in maintaining high standards of electoral democracy. People like him & ADR are vital for questioning authorities, a healthy sign for any democracy.”
Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said: “Extremely sad to know that Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, founder of ADR passed away this morning. A crusader for clean elections and electoral reforms. He has donated his body for medical research. May his soul rest in peace.”
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Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha noted that Chhokar’s passing was a loss for democracy.
“The passing of Jagdeep Chhokar is not just the loss of a man; it is the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity of India’s democracy. As founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, he forced the nation to look into the mirror of its electoral practices and confront the cracks beneath the surface of its democratic edifice,” Jha said on X
His departure leaves behind a void, but also a legacy—an unfinished task that belongs now to all who care about democracy. We must also renew our pledge to the cause he lived for: that elections in India be not just contests of power, but rituals of trust,” he said.
