Shrikant Khandalkar was a lawyer known for filing
public interest litigation in India
The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availabili ...
. He died Sunday 29 November 2015.
On Sunday 29 November 2015 Khandalkar was found dead.
Police determined that the death was a suicide.
His body was injured after falling 8 stories from a window.
He held a
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...
which explained that he had serious health problems.
The lack of proper lighting in the courthouse was named as an explanation for why no one noticed the danger.
''
The Hitavada'' reported that he was alive for some hours before he was able to go to the hospital, where he died.
Khandalkar had been in conflict with various organizations over lawsuits, and this may have contributed to his poor condition.
''Nagpur Today'' described the death as mysterious.
In 2019 a group of lawyers requested a probe into the deaths of Khandalkar,
Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, and retired judge Prakash Thombre. These three were legal colleagues and all died in strange ways.
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
politician
Kapil Sibal stated his opinion that Khandalkar was murdered.
Khandalkar helped to expose the
Maharashtra Irrigation Scam.
In 2011 Khandalkar represented university faculty who called for review of the appointment of university chancellors.
In 2013 Khandalkar praised the
Government of Maharashtra
The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...
for committing to establish the
Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.
Previously Khandalkar had filed
public interest litigation
The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability ...
advocating for this.
Also in 2013 in Nagpur, Khandalkar filed for investigation about the sale of public land to a private real estate development company.
References
{{reflist
Indian lawyers
2015 deaths
Indian anti-corruption activists
Death conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories in India