Mar 19, 2024 | Important Judgments, Violation of Civil and Democratic Rights
PUDR welcomes a recent judgment by the Apex court as a timely reminder that liberty of speech and expression is a right fundamental to the citizens of India and restrictions imposed on it must be reasonable. On 7 March, the Supreme Court quashed an FIR against a...
Jan 2, 2024 | Undemocratic Laws, Violation of Civil and Democratic Rights
On 20th and 21st December 2023, the Parliament enacted three new laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. These Codes replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, the Code of Criminal...
Dec 16, 2023 | Undemocratic Laws, Violation of Civil and Democratic Rights
PUDR welcomes the revision in the definition of ‘Life Imprisonment’ in Clause 4 (b) in Chapter II (“Of Punishments”) in the revised draft of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS II). Contrary to the earlier draft (BNS I) in which “Imprisonment for life” in Chapter II was...
Dec 14, 2023 | Undemocratic Laws, Violation of Civil and Democratic Rights
PUDR notes with concern the redrafted section on Terrorist Activities in the revised Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023. While in the earlier draft of the BNS, the offence of a Terrorist Act largely mirrored the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the...
Dec 7, 2023 | Death Penalty, Undemocratic Laws, Violation of Civil and Democratic Rights
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) raises concern over the increased number of offences punishable by death in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS, 2023). Tabled in the Parliament in August, the BNS is slated to replace the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC, 1860)...