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.
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Framed to Die: The Case of Stan Swamy
Marking a month since Stan Swamy passed away in judicial custody in a private hospital, a month in which no official inquiry, even the mandated magisterial inquest, has not been initiated, Framed to die: The case of Stan Swamy documents the manner in which Stan Swamy...
Why recent judgments in UAPA cases represent limited victory
THEY COULD STRENGTHEN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE DRACONIAN LAW, BUT ACCESS TO JUDICIARY REMAINS RESTRICTED FOR THOUSANDS INCARCERATED UNDER IT. In the past week, three seminal judgments involving the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) have been delivered....
Clause By Clause, Taking Liberties With Human Liberty
AMONG ALL OUR LAWS, SECTION 43D(2) OF UAPA IS ARGUABLY THE MOST VIOLATIVE OF PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE-IT TOTALLY ECLIPSES PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS, AND PERMITS PRE-TRIAL INCARCERATION UP TO 180 DAYS Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and...
Why even CCTV cameras in police stations won’t guarantee justice for victims of custodial violence
IN THE ABSENCE OF CLEAR LEGAL MECHANISMS ENSURING ACCESS AND TRANSPARENCY, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD THE POLICE ACCOUNTABLE. On January 27, the Supreme Court has called for responses from all states and Union Territories on its judgement ordering that CCTV cameras...
THIRD WAVE OF COVID OUTBREAK IN DELHI NECESSITATES CONTINUED DECONGESTION OF PRISONS
DELHI PRISONS MUST BE DECONGESTED AMID COVID, AS A REMINDER THAT PRISONERS TOO HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE. We are presently in the midst of the third wave of COVID outbreak, which, by all accounts, is worse than before. The WHO has reported the highest daily...
Latest Press Statements
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...
Review Death Penalty Punishments in Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
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)...