Shrikant Khandalkar

Shrikant Khandalkar was a lawyer known for filing public interest litigation in India. He died Sunday 29 November 2015.

On Sunday 29 November 2015 Khandalkar was found dead.[1] Police determined that the death was a suicide.[1] His body was injured after falling 8 stories from a window.[1] He held a suicide note which explained that he had serious health problems.[1] The lack of proper lighting in the courthouse was named as an explanation for why no one noticed the danger.[1] The Hitavada reported that he was alive for some hours before he was able to go to the hospital, where he died.[2][3] Khandalkar had been in conflict with various organizations over lawsuits, and this may have contributed to his poor condition.[4][3] Nagpur Today described the death as mysterious.[5]

In 2019 a group of lawyers requested a probe into the deaths of Khandalkar, Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, and retired judge Prakash Thombre.[6] These three were legal colleagues and all died in strange ways.[7]

Congress politician Kapil Sibal stated his opinion that Khandalkar was murdered.[8][9]

Khandalkar helped to expose the Maharashtra Irrigation Scam.[10]

In 2011 Khandalkar represented university faculty who called for review of the appointment of university chancellors.[11]

In 2013 Khandalkar praised the Government of Maharashtra for committing to establish the Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.[12] Previously Khandalkar had filed public interest litigation advocating for this.[12] Also in 2013 in Nagpur, Khandalkar filed for investigation about the sale of public land to a private real estate development company.[13]