Over the course of the next twenty years, Chhokar brought his brilliance, scholarship and diligence to the legal and advocacy work that the ADR pursued

Last year, when asked during a discussion whether simultaneous polls would make elections more cost-efficient, Jagdeep S Chhokar, the cofounder of poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said he found it painful when people put a monetary value on democracy. “If we want the cheapest possible elections that (would) mean we want the cheapest possible democracy,” Chhokar said.

Never known to mince his words, always willing to help — even when he was on vacation or convalescing — those he thought could add to his voice to battle the ills that plague India’s electoral systems and to bring greater transparency and accountability in Indian politics, Chhokar passed away in Delhi on Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 80. “Prof Jagdeep Chhokar’s vision reshaped the way India thinks about elections and accountability. His absence leaves a void, but his example will continue to inspire all who strive for a stronger and more vibrant democracy,” ADR said.

Chhokar had had an illustrious academic career before his colleagues, including Trilochan Sastry, and he founded the ADR in 1999. Born on November 25, 1944, Chhokar earned degrees in engineering in 1967, pursued an MBA from Delhi University's Faculty of Management Studies (1977), and later earned a PhD from the Louisiana State University in the US. He joined IIM-Ahmedabad in 1985, teaching in the field of organisational behaviour until his retirement in 2006. Chhokar also served as the dean and director-in-charge during his tenure at IIM-Ahmedabad. He had also worked with the Indian Railways for over a decade, and as an international marketing manager with a public sector organisation for four years. Apart from IIM-A, Chhokar had taught at universities in Australia, France, Japan, and the US. In later years, Chhokar earned a law degree in 2005 from Gujarat University — something that helped him with the ADR legal work. He was a keen birdwatcher, obtaining a certificate in ornithology from the Bombay Natural History Society in 2001, and enjoyed the company of birds on the IIM-A campus and wherever he travelled, states his profile on the IIM-A website.

Over the past two decades, the ADR spearheaded several landmark judicial interventions. These included the 2002 Supreme Court judgment making it mandatory for candidates to disclose their criminal cases, assets, and educational qualifications, and its most recent was to challenge the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Survey (SIR) in Bihar. The ADR’s other recent notable intervention was challenging the Electoral Bonds scheme, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2024.

In 1999, Chhokar along with his IIM colleague Sastry petitioned the Delhi High Court, where they demanded candidates in elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies disclose criminal cases pending against them in their nomination papers. In its verdict next year, the court said it should be mandatory for candidates to disclose criminal cases pending against them, which the Supreme Court upheld in 2002. The Centre amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to get around the apex court’s order, which the SC struck down in 2003. Looking back, Chhokar told a newspaper two decades later, the government’s effort to stonewall the reform turned him into a “diehard activist”.

Over the course of the next 20 years, Chhokar brought his brilliance, scholarship, and diligence to the legal and advocacy work that the ADR pursued, such as filing petitions, producing reports, and building public tools like the MyNeta database.

Chhokar’s body has been donated to Delhi's Lady Hardinge Medical College for medical research.