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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Latest Publications
A Criminal Act: Critique of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act, 2017
The Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act, 2017 (UPCOCA) was passed on 27 March 2018. The statement of objects and reasons for the law argues that ‘organised crime’ has become a widespread and serious threat and such activities are fueled by illegal wealth,...
Living, Working and Dying in Bawana
This report covers the investigation carried out by PUDR team in to the massive fire that broke out in a factory in Delhi’s Bawana Industrial area. Altogether 17 workers, including 10 women had lost their life and 30 workers had suffered burn and other injuries. The...
Encountering Resistance: State Policy for Development in Gadchiroli
Between the 5th and 7th of May 2018, a combined fact-finding team of 40 members from the Coordination for Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO), Indian Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL) and Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) visited the...
COW VIGILANTISM: CRIME, COMMUNITY AND LIVELIHOOD (JANUARY 2016 TO MARCH 2018)
To be written
A PRE-DECIDED CASE: A CRITIQUE OF THE MARUTI JUDGMENT OF 2017
To be written
Latest Press Statements
Uphold SIT Investigation into Oting Killings! Demand Sanction for Prosecuting Guilty Army Personnel!
People’s Union for Democratic Rights demands that the Centre give sanction for prosecuting guilty army personnel involved in the killings in Oting, Nagaland on December 4, 2021. Spread over 300 pages, the SIT has accused the army on multiple grounds, and the...
A Ray of Hope for Struggle Against Long Incarceration
PUDR hails the release of A. G. Perarivalan by the Supreme Court on May 18, 2022. A life-imprisonment convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case (1991), Perarivalan’s over thirty- year struggle for justice raises several issues, ranging from the unfairness of long...
When the Process becomes the Punishment
Tomorrow, 14th April 2022 marks the completion of two years of PUDR activist Gautam Navlakha’s surrender before the NIA. One of sixteen accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, Gautam has been imprisoned in Taloja Central Jail, Navi Mumbai since 25 May 2020. For...
Punish Guilty Personnel Protected under AFSPA
People’s Union for Democratic Rights, PUDR, welcomes the Union Government’s decision (March 31, 2022), to significantly reduce the ambit of disturbed areas under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). According to news reports, this decision will be effective in...
Fahad Shah and the Tragic Fate of Journalism in Kashmir
The recent arrest of Fahad Shah, editor of Kashmir Walla, under S 13 of UAPA and S 124 A and 505 of IPC for ‘uploading anti-national content’ raises a debate about the fate of journalism in times of conflict. Shah was arrested as he had uploaded Inayat Ahmad Mir’s...