Jagdeep Chhokar, founder-trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), died of a heart attack in the early hours of Friday in Delhi.

Chhokar, 81, who was nursing a fractured shoulder and lung infection, suffered a heart attack around 3.30am.

Beginning his career as a mechanical engineer with the railways, Chhokar moved to academics and was appointed dean and later director at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, till he found his life’s calling in advocating for electoral reforms in India.

He was inspired by Trilochan Sastry, his colleague at the IIM-A whose scrutiny of the nomination papers of candidates contesting the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from Ahmedabad raised crucial questions regarding transparency.

And thus was born ADR, an organization that has been tirelessly working to bring about transparency into the electoral process.

Chhokar and Sastry were the strongest voices demanding more information on candidates contesting elections. Earlier, candidates were required to provide only basic information.

Delhi High Court, acting on a petition filed by Chhokar and Sastry, ordered in November 2000 that electoral candidates would have to file sworn affidavits including educational qualification, income, assets and criminal cases among other things.

One of the major successes of the ADR was when the Supreme Court scrapped the electoral bond scheme – introduced by the Narendra Modi government – months before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Chhokar’s legacy “will inspire generations of activists, academics and citizens committed to India’s democratic values,” the ADR said in a statement.

Manoj Kumar Jha, Rajya Sabha member from the RJD, said Chhokar’s passing was the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity of India’s democracy.

“He believed that democracy is not sustained by the noise of elections, but by their fairness, transparency, and accountability. He reminded us, time and again, that clean politics cannot emerge from tainted processes,” Jha wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

“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.”

Activist Yogendra Yadav said, “Truly selfless champion of democracy and public causes. Humble and self-effacing to the core, he and ADR were behind some of the major electoral reforms in the last two decades, including disclosure of property and criminal antecedents of candidates.”