Opinion Prashant Bhushan remembers Jagdeep S Chhokar: Champion of accountability
Jagdeep Chhokar was fearlessly outspoken and raised his voice against the ills plaguing our country and against the ruling establishment
Jagdeep closely monitored the submissions made by ADR before the court. After the last hearing, when the Election Commission issued instructions regarding the acceptance of Aadhaar cards as proof of identity, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s direction, Jagdeep wrote to a colleague: ‘Isn’t it ridiculous how much has to be done by how many, to achieve so little! 
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Jagdeep S Chhokar, co-founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), and an incisive, indefatigable, and fearless champion of democracy, passed away at the age of 80 on September 12. He is survived by his wife Kiran, who remembers fondly the 50 wonderful years they had together, as also his relentless pursuit of socio-political causes that formed their way of life. Those who were not in regular touch with him were not aware that he was suffering from respiratory problems, especially after Covid, when he was hospitalised for pneumonia. He never complained about ill health nor let it come in the way of his commitment to the public causes he was engaged in. Before he founded ADR, Jagdeep was a railway officer of the mechanical engineering service. He resigned after many years, pursued a doctorate, and then joined the IIM-Ahmedabad as a professor. He is reverentially remembered by his colleagues in the Railways and his students and co-faculty at IIM for his intellect and commitment to public good.
Under his leadership, ADR achieved many milestones in making our democratic polity more robust, transparent, and accountable. I had the privilege of a long association with Jagdeep, as we were co-travellers in many of ADR’s cases and causes. ADR was instrumental in securing the landmark Supreme Court judgment that mandated candidates of political parties to furnish affidavits regarding their criminal antecedents, assets and liabilities, and educational qualifications. Before every election, ADR’s team would scour affidavits filed by candidates of state assemblies and Parliament and publish reports informing the people about the percentage of candidates with criminal antecedents, the political parties and their candidates with the largest assets. This was an invaluable service to help voters make
informed decisions.
More recently, ADR secured another victory when the Supreme Court quashed the anonymous Electoral Bonds Scheme and directed the State Bank to disclose who had purchased the bonds and given them to which party. This opened the floodgates of information and analysis on how most electoral bonds were given to parties by way of bribes as quid pro quo. Thereafter, ADR challenged the law brought in by the government for the selection of election commissioners, which removed the Chief Justice from the selection committee and replaced it with another minister alongside the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, that challenge remains pending, with the government having a free hand in such appointments. ADR has also challenged the amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, made in 2016 and 2018, which have effectively allowed political parties to accept foreign funding. It also filed a petition to make political parties answerable under the Right to Information Act. This was because, despite an order of the Central Information Commission, political parties were not complying. Unfortunately, these two petitions also remain pending in the Supreme Court.
ADR has also been at the forefront of challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission, and especially the hurried implementation in Bihar. The case has succeeded in securing some degree of transparency in the process, but there are still many problems with SIR that need to be addressed.
Jagdeep closely monitored the submissions made by ADR before the court. After the last hearing, when the Election Commission issued instructions regarding the acceptance of Aadhaar cards as proof of identity, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s direction, Jagdeep wrote to a colleague: “Isn’t it ridiculous how much has to be done by how many, to achieve so little. And how much more is still left to be done, to make the slightest difference. I know we should all be happy. But I feel like saying, what a sad situation we and our country are in”.
Jagdeep was fearlessly outspoken and raised his voice against the ills plaguing our country and against the ruling establishment. Many of his activist friends were emboldened to speak out because of the example he set. With his passing, India has lost a true champion of democracy and a significant voice for public causes at a critical juncture in our country’s social and political life.
The writer is a public interest advocate and has been counsel for ADR in many of its cases before the High Court and Supreme Court
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