PUCL Bulletin, July 2001

'PUCL has done pioneering work in human rights' says India Centre

The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) is an NGO with branches all over India which has done pioneering work in Human Rights and Law, strived to protect and build a civil society and advanced the cause of the rights and liberties of the Indian citizen against a state that is becoming increasingly authoritarian and indifferent to the plight of its citizens.

Most recently, they have filed a petition in the Supreme Court which demands the right to food for Indian citizens, and asks whether the State has the responsibility to prevent the occurrence of starvation deaths, which have become so rampant in the third consecutive year of famine and drought.

Unlike other NGOs, the PUCL has not shied away from taking on the authorities and knocking at the doors of the judiciary for redress and succor. However, neither have they turned a blind eye to the problems inherent in our judicial system. Recently two of PUCL's advocates from Chennai, Suresh and Vasu, have formed a group called 'Lawyers against Corruption' and taken up the issue of corruption in the Madras High Court. The judiciary responded by slapping charges of Contempt of Court on them. These advocates are now in Bombay and are holding a public meeting entitled 'Accountability and Transparency in the Judicial System: Struggle of Lawyers in the Madras High Court' at the YMCA Colaba at 4.30 pm on 24 May 2001. During this meeting they will be producing and distributing documentary evidence supporting their contention about corruption in the Madras High Court.

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