The civil rights movement in India has emerged as an autonomous voice in defense of civil liberties and democratic rights of our people. The Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi, is one such organisation. It came into existence in 1977 as the Delhi unit of a larger national forum, PUCLDR, and became PUDR on 1 February, 1981.
“Close to the one-year anniversary of violence in Nuh district, Haryana, PUDR released its report on ongoing state repression in the aftermath of July 31, 2023. Justice Madan Lokur (retd., Supreme Court) and Professor Manoranjan Mohanty (retd., Delhi University) launched “In the wake of Nuh: A report on state repression” on July 29, 2024 at Press Club of India.
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Poster Campaign: Repeal UAPA! Release the Bhima Koregaon undertrials!
As part of its campaign for the release of activists incarcerated in the Bhima Koregaon case, PUDR has created posters in English and Hindi which portray the draconian features of UAPA along with portraits of the activists. Posters in English Posters in Hindi
पोस्टर अभियान। यूएपीए रद्द करो। भीमा कोरेगांव के विचाराधीन कैदियों को रिहा करो!
Poster campaign. Cancel UAPA. Release the undertrial prisoners of Bhima Koregaon!
Another ‘Natural’ Death in Tihar: Custodial Death of Jishan and its aftermath
On 15 February 2022, 19 year old Jishan, an undertrial arrested for a petty theft in November 202, died in judicial custody of Delhi’s Tihar Jail. This report is based on PUDR investigation of this incident and its aftermath. The PUDR team spoke to the family and...
Behind the veil of algorithms: Invisible workers
A report on workers in 'Gig' Economy. The growth of the ‘gig’ economy and ‘gig workers’ in India is a phenomenon of the last decade or so. Even though this may not be the fastest growing category of workers, still names like Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, Uber or Urban Company...
The Anti – Labour Codes
The 75th Independence Day of India is practically the first for workers in the country without the official protection of crucial labour laws, like the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Factories Act, 1948 among others. Some of these laws are as old as the country’s...
Latest Press Statements
Supreme Court offers a timely reminder on the scope of fundamental freedoms
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...
Release of Report entitled, Fettering People’s Rights: A Critique of Selected Offences and Punishments in The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
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...
PUDR welcomes the Bombay High Court order granting regular bail to Gautam Navlakha
PUDR welcomes the Bombay High Court order granting regular bail to Gautam Navlakha, a well-known civil rights activist, author, and journalist, on December 19, 2023. The two-member bench comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige ruled that based on a perusal...
Life Imprisonment till Death: A regime of retributive punishments under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
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...
Same offence, Two Laws: The questionable reproduction of the UAPA in Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita
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...