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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Latest Press Statements
Stop Harassment of Kashmiri Students
April 29, 2025 PUDR expresses deep concern over the unchecked Islamophobia, the violation of rights during the ongoing crackdown in the region, and the harassment of Kashmiri students across the country following the cold-blooded killings of 26 civilians, primarily...
Books, the new casualty in Kashmir
PUDR expresses strong reservations and condemns the coordinated raids in last week of February on bookstores by the Jammu and Kashmir police in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir. As per reports in the press about 668 books have been seized. Majority of books seized...
Conviction of Sajjan Kumar: Delayed Justice Raises Questions
PUDR acknowledges imprisonment for life handed down to Sajjan Kumar by the Delhi Special Court on 25th of February 2025 for the murder of father-son duo Jaswant Singh and Tarundeep Singh at PS Saraswati Vihar on 01st of November 1984. The case is based on the...
Thirteen Months of Kagaar: Securitization and Human Rights in Chhattisgarh
With more than one year of security operations in Chhattisgarh under Operation Kagaar, PUDR condemns the central and state governments’ policy of securitization at the expense of people’s rights and in violation of domestic and international law governing the State’s...
The Layered Reality of the NIA 100% conviction in 2024
On 31 December 2024, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) released a “Year-End Press Release” in which it noted a “record 100% conviction rate for 2024” (https://nia.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/PressReleaseNew/1874_1_PR31122024.pdf). The press release notes the...
Latest Publications
Factory Fires and Workers: A Capital Story
This report by PUDR, Factory Fires and Workers: A Capital Story, examines the underlying causes of repeated factory fires in Delhi, and seeks to arrive at an understanding about why they are so recurrent. Factory fires are chronic occurrences in Delhi. Particular...
In the wake of Nuh: A report on state repression
On July 22, 2024, the fourth annual Brajmandal Abhishek Yatra passed peacefully through the Nuh district in Haryana. Last year, the same yatra was characterised by violence, followed by state repression that casts a shadow till today. In the wake of Nuh: A report on...
38th Annual Dr. Ramanadham Memorial Lecture 2023: The Proposed Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and Democratic Rights
Report_38th Annual Dr. Ramanadham Memorial Lecture (October 2023) Every year PUDR organizes Dr. Ramanadham memorial lecture on a specific theme and its impact on democratic rights. The 38th Annual Ramanadham lecture was delivered on 14 October 2023, on The Proposed...
OF LAW, JUSTICE AND PEOPLE: An Analysis of Selected Provisions in the New Criminal Codes, 2023
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 (BNSS) and...
दिल्ली के आदर्श नगर पुलिस स्टेशन के हिरासत में सूरज प्रकाश की मौत:पाँच महीने बाद
पीयूडीआर आज अपनी रिपोर्ट “दिल्ली के आदर्श नगर पुलिस स्टेशन के हिरासत में सूरज प्रकाश की मौत:पाँच महीने बाद “ जारी कर रहा है। यह रिपोर्ट दिल्ली पुलिस की हिरासत में सूरज प्रकाश की मौत के 5 महीने बीत जाने के अवसर पर जारी की जा रही है और सूरज प्रकाश की मृत्यु से पहले और...
Latest Prison projects
Living Inside Tihar
This piece is a glimpse into the everyday life of people living in Tihar jail in Delhi and how they access to the most basic daily requirements. It is based on a series of interviews by PUDR in the months with three persons about their time in Tihar’s undertrial ward....
Testimony of Prashant Rahi
Prashant Rahi spoke with PUDR on a series of phone calls following his release from prison in March 2024. His testimony, reproduced with only stylistic edits, draws attention to the multiple challenges of incarceration in prisons and the presence/absence of judicial...