Jagdeep Chhokar. File. | Photo Credit: Hind
Life and work of prof. Jagdeep S. Chhokara was in the heart of election reforms in India. His lifelong commitment was rooted in one simple but deep principle – voter rights, voters are the cornerstone of democracy. For decades, his tireless efforts not only strengthened the voice of the Indian voter, but also gave the shape and direction of some of the most important election reforms that our country had experienced.
As one of the founders of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Prof. Chhokar Numerous petitions in front of Hon’ble The Supreme Court in India and always ensured that the voter remains the center of all democratic discourse. Although his contributions are too much to count, but several of them are as high as milestones in the Indian Democratic Route: Publication of Penalties, Financial Data and Educational Qualifications of Candidate Attaces and in 2015 revealed violations of the Foreign Contribution Act (FCRA); Reducing the system of election bonds and subsequent publication of political gifts of companies, in the morning the Constitution Bench in 2023 orders the appointment of the main election commissioner to make a committee composed of prime minister, opposition leader and chief judge of India to protect him from excessive executive control; and disqualification of convicted deputies and a MLA from legislative authorities. Each of these ADR petitions was not for personal profit, but to seize the informed decisions and to protect the sacredness of our democracy. It is little known that he was also among the active members of the Center for Litigation of the Public Interest and Forum of Whistle Blowers citizens, who also tirelessly work on a more responsible government.
While some may have tried to color their work with an ideology brush, the truth is that prof. Chhokar was led only by his unshakable belief in democracy and his unwavering belief in the power of citizens.
As a young lawyer who treated ADR cases according to Mr. Prashant Bhushan, – for me prof. Chhokar became more than ADR or client as it was. He became a guiding light, a friend (despite a huge age difference) and in many ways, a brainstorming partner. After working with him for more than ten years, I have witnessed his clarity of the idea, humility and devotion to the values anchored in the constitution.
In one particular case, when they were against ADR in the 2024 EVM-VVP judgment, their bona fides and integrity questioned, I asked to apply for expiry, because these notes were obviously unfounded and incorrectly placed. Prof. Chhokar was not even one to love his words, and said that ADR didn’t care about his image. “If the Supreme Court judge wrote something against ADR, he speaks of a judge, not ADR. We will wear it as an honorary badge,” he told me. That was the depth of his belief, and therefore ADR never cared that it respond to these accusations.
During all our interviews – whether ongoing cases or future reforms – I realized that strategization, victory or loss in court depended less and what more attracted to him was that there should be transparency in the country’s election system. After a recent order at Bihar Sir Case, which directed Aadhar as 12. Document, he sent a message that was supposed to be the last one he sent me – “It is not ridiculous how much it must be done depending on how much to achieve so little!
And how much more is to do to achieve the slightest difference. I know we should all be happy, but we should feel like we said, “What a sad situation we are and a country!” Sorry. “I must say that his message is predictive because it is poetic and worse – it’s accurate.
Like many others who liked him, his died of his deep personal loss. Yet it is a much greater public loss, because we say goodbye to the hero of Indian democracy and, as Ravish Kumar said in his show yesterday, he was indeed the main election commissioner of the people. His journey may have ended, but his contributions became part of the Law of the Earth and ensured that his work and visions would live forever. He inspired millions, including me, and his legacy will continue to lead us to a fairer, more transparent and civic democracy.
Non-Rathi is a lawyer-on-record practicing at Hon’ble Supreme Court in India.
Published – 13 September 2025 9:01
