PUDR mourns the passing away of Swami Agnivesh on September 11, 2020. Like many civil rights organizations which came into being in the post-Emergency phase in Delhi, PUDR shared a warm and comradely relation with Swami Agnivesh as he participated in a wide variety of democratic rights activities in the city.

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) welcomes the directions passed by the Supreme Court of India on 23.03.2020 in Suo Moto Writ Petition (C) 1/2020 titled In Re: Contagian of Covid 19 Virus in Prisons. Through the said order, all States and Union territories have been directed to constitute a High Powered Committee for the release of prisoners in the wake of the public health crisis related to COVID-19.

1 मई, 2019 को गढ़चिरौली के कुरखेड़ा तहसील में माओवादियों द्वारा किये गए एक विस्फोट में सी-60 पुलिस बल के 15 जवान और एक गाड़ी चालक की

People’s Union for Democratic Rights condemns series of incidents triggered by members of CPI(Maoist) in Bastar Sambhag (region) of Chhattisgarh in just over a fortnight.

People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) expresses its condolences on the demise of Justice Rajinder Sachar. A leading civil rights activist, Justice Rajinder Sachar will be remembered for his democratic commitments and deep concern for the marginalized and deprived sections of society. His career as a judge reverberated the same commitment to democratic ethos and his defiance of arbitrary authority.

PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (PUDR)

24th February 2018

PUDR mourns the death of Neelabh Mishra

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) mourns the death of a friend and our former Executive member Neelabh Mishra. Neelabh breathed his last on 24th February 2018 at 07.30AM at Apollo Hospital, Chennai where he had been receiving treatment for non-alcoholic liver failure.

Right to protest has been coming under attack under one or other pretext. Earlier public order was the way in which our right to protest was curtailed by imposing IPC Section 144 on large parts of the Delhi city to prevent gathering of more than five persons. People were also confined to a small physical area, limiting the means and impact of resistance. Now, public health concerns are being invoked to throttle people’s right to protest. The recent National Green Tribunal (NGT) Order against the Application No.

10/10/17

To,

DIG,

Tihar Jail,

Office of The Director General of Prisons, Prisons Head Quarter,

Near Lajwanti Garden Chowk, Janak Puri,

New Delhi

Subject: Request for appointment to discuss jail conditions

Dear Sir,

People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) expresses grave concern at the increasing incidents of violent attacks and gang wars in jail which severely threaten the life and security of the inmates. The Tihar jail authorities have faltered in fulfilling their responsibility of ensuring a safe atmosphere by failing to keep in check violent conflicts among prisoners, the brunt of which is being borne by those inmates that are more vulnerable. On September 13th two Kashmiri undertrials - Mohammed Shafi and Javaid Ahmed - were severely assaulted by members of two warring groups, in Jail No. 3.

PUDR remembers the significant contribution of Justice P.N. Bhagwati to the cause of furthering and protecting fundamental and democratic rights of citizens, in his death on 15 June 2017. In his years as a judge, especially through the 1980s, Justice Bhagwati along with Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, introduced Public Interest Litigation on a substantive scale in India, and the thrust of many of his judgments was to make justice and rights accessible to large numbers. His championing of legal aid can also be seen in this light.