People's Union for Civil Liberties

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) was founded in 1976 by socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan during the Indian Emergency to defend civil liberties and fundamental constitutional rights. It is one of the largest membership-based human rights organisations in India, with active state chapters across the country.

PUCL is renowned for sending independent fact-finding teams to investigate custodial deaths, communal violence, state overreach, and encounters, publishing detailed public reports. Its public interest litigations in the Supreme Court have shaped landmark jurisprudence on the right to food, privacy, surveillance guidelines, and electoral accountability (NOTA).