PUCL newly elected office bearers & resolutions passed by state conventions
By PUCL NATIONAL
PUCL Bihar
On the 29th of September 2024, elections were held and the new elected members of the EC are:
President: Anand Kishor
Vice Presidents: Preeti Sinha, Pushpendra, Awdhesh Kumar, Father Jose K
General Secretary: Sarfaraz
Secretaries: Krishna Murari, Jagmohan, Mithilesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar
Treasurer: Vacant
PUCL Chhattisgarh
Results of elections held during the State Convention held in Raipur on the 6th and 7th of November 2024:
President: Junas Tirkey
Vice President: Sudha Bharadwaj, Lakhan Subodh, Janaklal Thakur General Secretary: Kaladas Dehariya
Joint Secretaries: Deenbandhu, Amit Verma
Organizing Secretaries: VN Prasad Rao, Deepak Sahu
Treasurer: AP Josy
Executive Council: Degree Prasad (ex-officio), Ashish (ex-officio), Hidme Markam, Suneeta Pottam, Sonsingh Jhali, Chowaram Sahu, Basant Sahu, Roopdas Tandon, Rajeev Lakra, Kishore Narayan, Gayatri Suman, Saraswati, Mamata Kujur, Gautam Bandopadhaya, Samaa, Shreya, Alok Shukla, Rachna Dehariya, Tuhin Deb, Asit Sengupta, Akhilesh Edgar, Indu Netam, Kalyan Patel, Chandra Prakash Tandon, Dinesh Satnam
National Council: Shalini Gera, Soni Sori, Rinchin, Jacob Kujur, JP Nair, Keshav Shori
PUCL Delhi
The new team of Office Bearers who were elected on 7th September 2024 to the PUCL Delhi unit:
President: Arun Kumar Maji
Vice-Presidents: Shalu Nigam, Ashok Kumar
General Secretary: TS Ahuja
Secretaries: Amit Srivastava, Vertika Mani Tripathi, Sumedha.
Executive Members: Tarakeshwari Negi, ND Pancholi, Prabodh Raj Chandol, Bhaktawar Singh, Harish Kumar Mehra, Padam Kunal, Sarvesh National Observer: Sanjay Parikh
Election Officer: Deepak Nayar
National Council: Arun Maji, Dr Shalu Nigam, Amit Srivastavy, Vertika Mani, Sarvesh, Sumedha Baudh
PUCL Jharkhand
Office Bearers elected during meeting on 29th September, 2024 at Bagaicha, Namkum:
President: Dinanath Pente
Vice Presidents: Dashrath Mahato, Vinod Kumar Pal, Dr. Supriyo Bhattacharya P.M. Tony
General Secretary: Shashi Sagar Verma
Secretary: Jitendra Kumar
Organising Secretaries: Nishad Khan, Sanjay Kumar Bose
Election Officer: Ashok Jha
National Observer: Pushparaj
Observer: Amit Srivastava
PUCL Kerala
The results of the election held on 16th November, 2024 in Cochin are:
President: Adv. P Chandrashekhar
Vice Presidents: Adv P.A. Pouran, Adv Ashkar Khader
General Secretary: Adv. Tanuja George
Joint Secretary: Adv. Manjari
Treasurer: Renny Antony
National Council Member: Adv P K Ibrahim
Executive Committee Members: Adv P K Aboobacker, Adv. Shaheer Manayath, Noushad C.A. Kabeer A A, Adv. Nimmy Johnson, Adv Hashim C A, Adeeb Hydher
National Observer: S. Balamurugan
PUCL Uttar Pradesh
Results of the election of Office Bearers (2025- 27) on 10th November 2024 at the PUCL State Convention held at Allahabad:
President: TD Bhaskar
General Secretary: Chithajit Mitra
Treasurer: Manish Sinha
Secretaries: Girijesh Pandey, Kamalesh-ji, Yashpal-ji, Shamsuddin-ji, Sourabh Kumar
Organising Secretaries: Touheed, Soni Azad
Vice-Presidents: Ram Kumar, Alok Agnihotri, Vijay Chawla, Ashok Prakash, Rudrapratap Mishra, Vikas Shakya, Ghousiya Khan, Pawan Rana, Ram Shankar
EC Members (Karyakarini): Seema Azad, Sashikant-ji, Faiz Khan, Santosh Patel, Ajay Pal, Kamal Singh
National Council Members: Ram Kumar, Alok Agnihotri, Vijay Chawla, TD Bhaskar, Ghousiya Khan, Vikas Shakya, Ashok Prakash, Sashikant-ji, Rudrapratap Mishra, Yashpal-ji, Sourabh Kumar, Manish Sinha
Ex-officio National Council members: Farman Naqvi, Seema Azad, Chitrajit Mishra, Kamal Singh
PUCL Tamil Nadu
Results of the elections held during the State Convention held in Coimbatore on 8th & 9th November, 2024:
President: Prof. R. Murali
Vice President: DR Bharathivijayan, T. Mugesh
State General Secretary: Sekar Annadurai
Joint Secretaries: K. Sudhir, K. Saravanan
Treasurer: P. Kanmani.
Members of the National Council: V. Suresh, TSS Mani, K. Saravanan, Prof. Saraswathi, S. Krishnaswamy, R. John Vincent, S. Balamurugan, Mohammad Abu Backer, K. Ravichandran Fr. XD Selvaraj
The following resolutions were passed in the PUCL TN and Puducherry State Conference on November 9 and 10, 2024:
1) The Tamil Nadu Government constituted a one-man committee headed by Justice K. Chandru to study caste-based violence among school students and formulate guidelines to prevent such incidents in schools. The committee submitted its report to the Tamil Nadu Government; however, the recommendations have not been implemented to date. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL urge the government to implement these guidelines immediately.
2) Violence against inter-caste couples is on the rise. Districtlevel committees comprising of the District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and District Social Welfare Officer should be formed to monitor and prevent such violence. The guidelines framed by the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court must be strictly enforced by the Tamil Nadu Government.
3) In line with the provision for self-respect marriages in the Hindu Marriage Act, amendments should be made to the Special Marriage Act to simplify marriages among individuals from various religious groups.
4) Custodial torture in Tamil Nadu has become widespread, with instances of breaking limbs and severely beating the accused being common. This brutal culture must end. Perpetrators of custodial violence should be prosecuted under appropriate criminal laws, and their trials should be expedited. The Tamil Nadu Government must recognize that attacks on human rights are attacks on the Constitution and Judiciary. Measures must be taken to ensure custodial violence is eradicated.
5) Recently, Tamil Nadu has seen a disturbing rise in encounter deaths, which are often suspected to be staged. These fake encounters are coldblooded murders. Those responsible should be charged with murder and tried under due process. Guidelines framed in PUCL vs. State of Maharashtra (SCC 2014) should be enforced to prevent such incidents.
6) Assigning work to prisoners based on caste is sanctioned in the prison manual. Despite a Supreme Court judgment banning caste-based discrimination in prisons, such practices persist in Tamil Nadu. The use of prisoners as orderlies, condemned by the Madras High Court, also continues. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL urge the government to eliminate these unethical practices.
7) The primary aim of imprisonment is to reform prisoners and reintegrate them into society. However, anomalies in the Tamil Nadu Government’s guidelines on the premature release of prisoners result in prolonged incarceration for many. Instead of categorizing crimes, the government should prioritize the duration of imprisonment as the main criterion. Necessary amendments should be made to expedite the premature release of prisoners.
8) Farmers and local residents are protesting projects such as the Parandur airport and the Melma SIPCOT expansion. The refusal to share project details, suppression of protesters, filing of false cases, and proceeding without consulting the affected people are undemocratic. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL urge the government to respect the people’s right to life, livelihood, and access to water bodies and arable land.
9) The Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Process) Act is pro-corporate and deprives farmers of their rights over land and water bodies. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL demand the repeal of this act in the interest of farmers.
10) Under the guise of smart city initiatives, poor people are being displaced and forced out of cities, depriving them of their right to life, livelihood, and shelter. The government must ensure that displaced individuals are resettled near their original homes without infringing upon their rights.
11) The Tamil Nadu Government’s plan to merge numerous village local bodies with municipal corporations has faced widespread protests. This merger undermines decentralization and is unconstitutional. The government must not proceed without the consent of the affected communities.
12) The impending closure of the Manjolai tea estate threatens the livelihood and shelter of plantation workers. The government should ensure that lands cultivated by these workers over generations are distributed among them and that they are rehabilitated appropriately.
13) In the name of tiger sanctuaries and development, indigenous people are being relocated from their lands, and their grazing rights are being violated. Simultaneously, commercial activities such as resorts are being promoted. This double standard harms tribal and forest-dwelling communities. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL urge the government to respect these communities’ rights and implement development projects within the law.
14) Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu have not been granted forest rights as mandated by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The government must implement the Act in letter and spirit.
15) As per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and People’s Biodiversity Registers have not been created in Tamil Nadu. The government must ensure the full implementation of this Act at all levels.
16) Violence against women and children in Tamil Nadu, often linked to alcoholism, has escalated significantly, causing serious socio-economic issues. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry PUCL urge the government to vest the power to permit TASMAC shops with Grama Sabhas and Area Sabhas. The government should also fulfill its promise to phase out liquor shops.
D.Sekar Annadurai, General secretary
R.Murali, President, PUCL – TN & Puducherry