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.
Latest Publications
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...
जाँच से समझौता: समझौता एक्सप्रेस धमाके (2007) और राष्ट्रीय जाँच एजेंसी (एनआईए) की भूमिका
मार्च 2019 में, एनआईए स्पेशल कोर्ट, पंचकुला ने 2007 के समझौता ब्लास्ट केस में फैसला सुनाया, जिसमें 67 मारे गए और 13 यात्री घायल हुए, जिनमें ज्यादातर पाकिस्तानी नागरिक थे, जो पानीपत के पास अटारी एक्सप्रेस में सवार थे। समझौता धमाकों को अजमेर और मक्का मस्जिद विस्फोट...
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 updates
Sujato Bhadra, Vice President,CRPP, Ramanadham memorial Meeting, PUDR, 13 September 2015.
Five years behind bars for five activists
