Association for Democratic Reforms

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) is an Indian non-partisan, non-governmental organization which works in the area of electoral and political reforms. Along with National Election Watch (NEW), ADR is striving to bring transparency and accountability in Indian politics and reducing the influence of money and muscle power in elections.
History.
ADR came into existence in 1999 when a group of Professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and Bangalore filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the Delhi High Court regarding the disclosure of the criminal, financial and educational background of the candidates contesting elections. 
The PIL was upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2000 but the Government of India appealed to the Supreme Court of India against the High Court judgement. However, in 2002 and subsequently in 2003, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for all the candidates contesting elections to disclose their criminal, financial and educational background prior to the polls by filing an affidavit with the Election Commission of India.
The process led to greater awareness among voters of criminal cases against politicians.
Founders.
ADR was co-founded by Trilochan Sastry, Jagdeep S. Chhokar, Ajit Ranade, Sunil Handa, Devanath Tirupati, Brij Kothari, Rajesh Agarwal, Pankaj Chandra, Sudarshan Khanna, Prem Pangotra and P.R. Shukla. It is headed by Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.).
Objective.
The objective of ADR is to improve governance and strengthen democracy by continuous work in the area of Electoral and Political Reforms. The ambit and scope of work in this field is enormous, hence, ADR has chosen to concentrate its efforts in the following areas pertaining to the political system of the country:
Function & Research Areas.
Election Watch or Analysis of Affidavits: Election Watch is the flagship programme of ADR. Since 2002, National Election Watch (NEW) and ADR have been conducting Election Watches across the country. As part of this programme, affidavits of candidates contesting elections are minutely examined and citizens are provided with the information about their background details to help them make an informed choice.
The Election Watch has so far collated data of about 1,82,108 candidates which can be accessed easily on www.myneta.info.
"Election Expenses of MPs and MLAs:" ADR also analyses the election expenses declared by elected representatives and the data is released to the media/citizens.
"Register of Members’ Interest of Rajya Sabha:" ADR also analyses Register of Members’ interest of the Rajya Sabha, which was brought into public domain in June 2011 after ADR’s two-year-long RTI battle. The report contains information regarding remunerative directorship, shareholding of controlling nature, regular remunerative activity, paid consultancy and professional engagement of the Rajya Sabha members.
Political Party Watch (PPW): 
ADR’s PPW program is aimed at bringing more transparency and accountability in the functioning of political parties. In 2008, based on an appeal filed by ADR, the Central Information Commission (CIC) declared that the Income Tax Returns of political parties should be made available in the public domain by the IT Department. Since then, ADR has analysed the "IT returns of all National and Regional parties" of India whose ITR details are available in public domain, from FY 2002-03 till date. An analysis of their Income Tax returns and donations statements filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows that the sources remain largely unknown. ADR analyses the sources of funding of National and Regional political parties. Between FY 2004-05 and FY 2014-15, ADR analysed sources of funding of 6 National and 51 Regional political parties.
Legal Advocacy: ADR also resorts to legal advocacy for Political and Electoral Reforms. Time to time ADR takes up various issues in the light of good governance by filing relevant complaints/appeals and PILs/writs with Central Information Commission, Supreme Court/ High Court as well as other Central and State agencies. ADR also attends various consultations/round-tables with bodies like Law Commission of India, Election Commission of India, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
ADR Youth Outreach Programmes.
1. Hum Badlenge Apna Bharat
The programme aims to educate senior school children of the challenges faced by Indian Democracy today via workshops. The workshop trainers use videos, audios, quiz papers and other interactive materials to engage with the youth.
2. ADR Campus Ambassadors
The programme aims to engage with college youth in issues related to Indian democracy and involve them proactively in organizing events. The selected Campus Ambassadors are apprised about the issues ADR is working on and their roles and responsibilities as ADR campus representative. All the activities are approved, sponsored, assisted & supervised by the ADR Team.
ADR Reports.
ADR has become the single data point for information/analysis of background details (criminal, financial and others) of politicians and of financial information of political parties. In the last few years, based on ADR’s report and data, a huge number of coverage was received in print and online media.