Demand accountability for the death of GN Saibaba
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) mourns the death of activist, teacher and poet GN Saibaba and condemns the state’s role in contributing to his early demise at the age…
Peoples Union for Democratic Rights
Death Penalty Does Not Prevent Crimes Against Women
PUDR opposes the passage of The Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, which amends the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Protection of Children…
Condemn Custody Death in Nagaon, Assam
25 August 2024, Delhi: PUDR strongly condemns the recent custodial death in Assam which occurred when an accused, a suspect in the gang-rape of a minor girl, drowned in a…
Extra judicial killings, False arrest and Forced Surrenders in Bastar: The Unchecked Violation of human rights
New Delhi, June 29, 2024: People’s Union of Civil Liberties would like to bring to your notice the alarming fact of the brazen killings by security forces of more than…
Release of the report “Of Law, Justice and People”
The Winter Session 2023 of the 17th Lok Sabha witnessed the passage of, arguably, the three most significant post-Constitution legislations, namely, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023…
PUDR welcomes the release of NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha
PUDR welcomes the release of NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha and the long overdue reminder to law enforcing agencies to respect constitutionally guaranteed rights. People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) welcomes…
PUDR welcomes bail to civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha
In the Bhima Koregaon case, with relief PUDR welcomes the Supreme Court order upholding regular bail for Gautam Navlakha, a well-known civil rights activist, author and journalist. The Bombay High…
Uphold Shoma Sen’s Bail Order: Release all Bhima Koregaon detainees!
PUDR expresses relief at the Supreme Court’s granting of bail to Prof. Shoma Sen on April 5, after nearly six long years of pre-trial incarceration. Charged under the Unlawful Activities…
PUDR welcomes the release of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on bail, but protests onerous bail conditions
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) welcomes the Supreme Court order granting bail on merits and release of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused in the infamous…
Five years behind bars for five activists
Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice! Release all 15-surviving accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. June 6, 2023 will mark five years that five activists are behind bars.…
Release Gautam Navlakha Immediately! Release all political prisoners
Today, 14 April 2023 marks four years, seven months and eighteen days since Gautam Navlakha’s arrest on 28 August 2018. A well-known human rights activist, respected journalist and writer of…
Stop Criminalizing Journalism and Human Rights Activism: Release Irfan Mehraj and Parvez Khurram
PUDR strongly condemns the arrest of Irfan Mehraj, a Srinagar-based freelance journalist and researcher under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 20 March 2023 by the National Investigation…
Condemn Torture of Shiv Kumar , Demand Action
People’s Union for Democratic Rights welcomes the findings of the report submitted by the District and Sessions Judge, Faridabad into the illegal detention and brutal torture of labour rights activist,…
Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Condemn the Death of Altaf Ahmad Shah
Jailed under-trial leader Altaf Ahmad Shah (66) is dead. His death does not come as a surprise. By the time Mr Shah was diagnosed with advanced renal cancer on 30th…
Vernon Gonsalves: Stop Denying Political Prisoners the Right to Healthcare in Jails
On 8th September Vernon Gonsalves, one of the 16 undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case lodged in the anda cell of Taloja Central Jail, was diagnosed with dengue and likely…
The Gujarat Politics of Remission
The controversial garlanding of the recently released 11 individuals by members allegedly belonging to the VHP on August 16, 2022, raises a pertinent question: why were these individuals released? Obviously,…
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…
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…
Revoke UAPA And Other Criminal Charges Against Tripura Fact-Finding Team Members
The invocation of UAPA charges against members of a fact-finding team shortly after they released its findings on the communal violence in Tripura, is shocking and condemnable. Besides S. 13…
Condemn The Solitary Confinement And Continuing Harassment Of Bhima Koregaon Prisoners
The high handedness of the Taloja Central Jail administration was evident in the events leading to the death of the octogenarian Bhima Koregaon undertrail, Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021.…
Framed to Die: The Case of Stan Swamy
PUDR’s report, Framed to Die: The Case of Stan Swamy, offers an exhaustive account of what lay behind Stan Swamy’s death in judicial custody in a private hospital on 5…
Condemn police repression on protesting farmers
PUDR condemns the Haryana Government and the Police for filing cases against farmers protesting against the three farmers and Electricity Act. As per various news reports, Haryana Police have registered…
Salute to Professor S. Seshaiah
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) salutes the life and activism of Professor S. Seshaiah who succumbed to Covid 19 on October 10, 2020 at Anantapur, Telangana. Professor Seshaiah began…
NE Delhi Riots: Demanding a Status Report – Make Investigations Transparent and FIRs public
About eighty days after the riots that convulsed NE Delhi, what is the status of the investigation into the ‘over 700’ FIRs reportedly registered, according to the Home Minister’s statement…
PUDR Report “Chronic ‘Accidents’: Deaths of Sewer/Septic Tank Workers, Delhi, 2017-2019”
People’s Union for Democratic Rights(PUDR) today released its report on deaths of workers in Delhi while cleaning sewers/septic tanks over the last two years, titled “Chronic ‘Accidents’: Deaths of Sewer/Septic…
The Long Dark Night In Kashmir
At the stroke of the midnight hour on 5 August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was blanketed in a state of siege. 35,000 fresh troops in addition to the existing 6.5…
The Illegal Ban on Jamaat-e-Islami
PUDR draws attention to the illegality behind the decision of the Central Government-ruled Jammu and Kashmir to ban Jamaat-e-Islami…
Condemn the Illegal Arrest of Lingaraj Azad
PUDR protests the illegal arrest of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti member Lingaraj Azad, who has been at the forefront of the peoples struggle against bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills, and…
Pulwama Aftermath: The Rising Fears
People’s Union for Democratic Rights expresses outrage over the terrorist attack in Pulwama which killed over 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, 2019 and expresses condolences to the families of…
Condemning the Abduction and Killings of Police Personnel in Shopian, Kashmir
PUDR strongly condemns the abduction and slaying of one constable and two Special Police Officers (SPOs) by unidentified militants in the Shopian district of Kashmir.The deceased identified as Nisar Ahmad…
PUDR Condemns the arrest of Abhay Devdas Nayak
A 34-year-old 'techie' Abhay Devdas Nayak was abducted by the Chattisgarh police on 31 May 2018 from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and presented before the media on 12 June,…
Major Gogoi and the Continuing Culture of Impunity
On May 30, 2018, the Jammu and Kashmir Police filed a status report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Srinagar regarding the case of sexual favours that…
No Encounter Happened in Gadchiroli on April 22nd 2018
The killings of at least 37 Maoists by the combined force of the CRPF and the C-60, the elite unit of the Gadchiroli Police, on 22nd and 23rd April 2018…
Release Anti-Displacement Activist Damodar Turi
PUDR condemns the arrest of anti-displacement activist and founder member of “Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan” (VVJVA) Damodar Turi, on February 15, 2018 at Ranchi, an hour after the “Loktantra…
Institutional Murder And Gangrape Of A Minor Dalit Girl By Security Forces In Odisha
PUDR CONDEMNS INSTITUTIONAL MURDER AND GANGRAPE OF A MINOR DALIT GIRL BY SECURITY FORCES IN KUNDULI, ODISHA DEMANDS PROPER INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION PUDR grieves and rages at the suicide of the young…
Code On Wage Bill 2017- A Proposed Legislation Violating The Rights Of The Workers
People’s Union for Democratic Rights has long been drawing attention to egregious violation of rights of workers governed under various labour laws. Most important of these rights is the fundamental…
Drop NSA Charges Against Chadra Shekhar Azad Ravan! Repeal NSA!
Peoples Union for Democratic Rights strongly condemns the imposition of the National Security Act (NSA) against Bhim Army's founder leader Chandrashekhar Azad by Yogi Adityanath's government, on 3 November 2017,…
Do Not Forget The Anti-Sikh Pogrom of 1984!
31 October 2017 - thirty three years have passed since the anti-Sikh pogrom carried out in Delhi between 31st October and 4th November 1984, following the assassination of the then Prime Minister…
‘Love-Jihad’, NIA, And Democratic Rights
As the Hadiya-Shefin matter comes up for hearing today, PUDR urges the Apex court to take note of the serious violation of democratic rights of the parties involved in this…
Report On Incidents Of Rajput Intolerance To Dalit Assertion In Saharanpur
On 5th May 2017, an incident of attack on Dalits by the Rajputs occurred in the village Shabbirpur, located near Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. During the attack a youth from the…
Machil Fake Encounter: Hopes Belied
News reports of 27.07.2017 state that an Armed Forces Tribunal has suspended the life sentences awarded by a General Court Martial in 2014 and which were confirmed in 2015, to…
Collective (Conscience) Killer
President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee rejected five more mercy petitions between 25th and 26th May, 2017. With his current rejections, he has achieved 42 rejections and seven acceptances of…
PUDR Condemns Award To Major Gogoi
PUDR strongly condemns the commendation conferred on Major Leetul Gogoi by none less than the Army Chief for taking Farooq Dar hostage, tying Dar to the front of his jeep…
Condemn Conviction And Sentencing Of Maruti Workers!
The Sessions Court in Gurgaon today announced the quantum of sentence for 31 workers convicted by it on 10th March in the State of Haryana Vs. Jiyalal and Others case.…
PUDR Condemns The Hooliganism of ABVP And Police Inaction at Ramjas College of Delhi University
In the most appalling display of hooliganism in the name of nationalism, the members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took to violence in the premises of Delhi University over…
Mockery Of Autonomy In Nagaland: PUDR Condemns The Anti-Women’s Reservation Protests
PUDR condemns the anti-women stand of the Naga HoHo/ Naga Tribes Action Committee (NTAC) in the context of reservation of seats for women in elections to local urban bodies. The…
Commutation Of Death Sentence In The Bara Massacre Case: Justice Half Done
PUDR welcomes the decision of the President commuting the death sentences of Nanhe Lal Mochi, Veer Kuar Paswan, Krishna Mochi and Dharmender Singh, convicted in the Bara massacre of 1992…
Open Letter To Chief Justice Of India On The Arrest Of Activists Of The Telangana Democratic Front
In continuation with our previous two petitions dated 22nd February 2016 and 26th February 2016, we wish to draw you attention to the consistent erosion of rule of law and…
Forced Nationalism And The Follow Ups Of The Supreme Court Order On National Anthem
On 30th November 2016, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order laying out seven directives to be followed marking respect for the National Anthem of India. These included the…
Stop The Intimidation And Harassment Of Kathputli Colony Residents
PUDR notes with concern the intimidation of the residents of Kathputli colony by the Delhi police since the night of 18 December. While Police presence was visible in and around…
Why We Stand In Solidarity With The Kashmiri People’s Demand For The Right To Self-Determination?
On 27th October 2016 several organisations in Delhi came together in protest at Jantar Mantar demanding restoration of civil liberties and democratic rights in Kashmir. People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)…
Bastar: From Burning Villages To Burning Effigies
PUDR strongly condemns the burning of the effigies of activists and a journalist by the Chhatissgarh Auxiliary police force across Bastar in a widely publicised ‘offical protest on 24th October.…
The Pelletised Face Of Kashmir
Peoples Union for Democratic Rights is horrified that the Rajya Sabha which debated the situation in Jammu and Kashmir on August 10, could not muster resolve to call for an…
Holy Cow, Unholy Carcass And Dalits
PUDR condemns the incident of flogging, stripping and parading of seven men belonging to the chamar caste by vigilante gaurakshaks on 11 July 2016 in Mota Samadhiyala village, Una taluka,…
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