BREAKING THE SILENCE ON TORTURE

PUCL workshop on Custodial Violence, Anti-Torture Law, UN Standards & Strategies for Campaign

Dates: 18th – 22nd October, 2026

Torture has not been defined in the Constitution or in other penal laws. ‘Torture’ of a human being by another human being is essentially an instrument to impose the will of the ‘strong’ over the ‘weak’ by suffering. The word torture today has become synonymous with the darker side of human civilisation.

‘D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal’, SC, (2017)

Background

India faces a crisis of custodial violence of alarming proportions. Data tabled in Parliament on 24th March 2026 reveals that 806 police custody deaths were recorded between 2021 and 2026 – an average of three deaths every week. Yet the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended disciplinary action in only one case over the entire six-year period.

The figures of custodial deaths – which includes deaths in police custody and also judicial custody – when undertrial prisoners are held in state or central prisons – is alarming, totalling 11,650 deaths. This averages to 37 deaths a week!! While arguably deaths in prisons may not be due to police torture, they do reflect the poor state of prisons in India. Abysmal water and sanitation facilities, severe overcrowding, brutal prison staff, corruption, inadequate prison hospitals and worse makes life in prisons hell.

Despite the staggering scale of custodial deaths, there is almost no accountability.

This impunity is not incidental. It reflects a deep, systemic failure across the chain of institutions entrusted with safeguarding citizens’ rights: the police, the magistracy, government hospitals, prison authorities and human rights commissions. The Global Torture Index 2025 classifies India as a ‘high-risk’ country for torture, noting that beatings, forced confessions, electric shocks, sexual violence and custodial deaths are ‘widespread and systemic’, particularly targeting Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, LGBTQIA+ individuals and migrant workers.

About the workshop

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), in collaboration with Sambhaavnaa, proposes a five-day residential workshop to re-launch a sustained, national-level Anti-Torture Campaign. This workshop is a response to both the structural crisis of custodial violence in India and the urgent need to equip civil society with the knowledge, tools and strategies to challenge it.

Objectives of the Workshop

Equip participants with a rigorous understanding of the constitutional and criminal law framework governing arrest, detention and protection from custodial torture.
Develop critical awareness of the gaps in India’s existing legal framework and the transformative potential of international instruments such as the UNCAT and its Optional Protocol.
Analyse the systemic and institutional failures – of the judiciary, prison authorities, medical institutions and human rights commissions – that perpetuate custodial violence.
Build capacity among lawyers, activists, journalists and doctors to intervene effectively at every stage: arrest, remand, judicial custody, medical examination and trial.
Share and learn from success stories, landmark judgments and campaign models from across India and the world.
Strategise and plan for the launch of a coordinated, national-level Anti-Torture Campaign, including demands for ratification of UNCAT and enactment of a dedicated anti-torture law.
Create a network of committed and informed advocates who can serve as trainers, legal advisers and campaign anchors in their respective states and regions.

Workshop Structure & Methodology

The five-day workshop is organised around a progression from understanding the crisis, through learning the law, to building a campaign. Each day combines expert presentations, case studies, group work, survivor testimonies and actionable exercises.

Pedagogical Approach

Expert presentations by senior advocates, academics, doctors and international human rights practitioners
Case study analysis drawing on landmark judgments (D.K. Basu, Prakash Singh, PUCL v. State of Maharashtra, Munshi Singh Gautam) and recent cases (Jayaraj-Bennett (TN-2020), Delhi students and youth leaders (2025 and 2026), NOIDA Workers torture (March, 2026)
Survivor testimonies – in person and via video – to ground the legal and policy discussions in lived experience
Small group exercises: mock remand hearings, drafting complaint mechanisms, media strategy simulations
Plenary sessions for shared reflection and strategic planning
Dedicated time each evening for campaign strategy working groups

Who is this workshop for

The workshop is designed for a diverse cohort of up to 40 participants drawn from across India, including:

Participant Category	Role / Relevance
Human Rights Lawyers	Litigation, criminal defence, PIL advocacy in torture and custodial death cases
Civil Society & PUCL Activists	Campaign leadership, community mobilisation, fact-finding and documentation
Journalists & Media Professionals	Investigative reporting, public awareness, documentation of cases
Doctors & Forensic Professionals	Medical examination of torture survivors, post-mortem analysis, evidence collection
Social Movement Leaders	Representing Dalit, Adivasi, LGBTQIA+, workers’ and other marginalised communities
RTI & Democratic Dissenters	Accountability demands, experience of state repression and illegal detention
Academics & Researchers	Policy analysis, documentation and knowledge generation on custodial violence

Proposed Resource Persons

The workshop will draw on a multidisciplinary pool of resource persons, including, senior advocates, members of the PUCL national executive and state units with first hand campaign experience, academic experts in constitutional, criminal and international human rights law, etc. Some of the confirmed resource persons include:

Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate Bombay HC and National Vice President, PUCL

Kavita Srivastava, President PUCL

V Suresh, Advocate and National General Secretary, PUCL

Arvind Narrain, Advocate, President PUCL Karnataka

Henri Tiphagne, Advocate and Convenor People’s Watch, Madurai

Prashant Bhushan, Public Interest Advocate, Supreme Court

Dr. K. Mathiharan, Forensic doctor and expert, Madurai (online)

Language: English with Hindi and regional language facilitation

Dates and Venue: 18th – 22nd October, 2026, Sambhaavnaa Institute, VPO Kandbari, Tehsil Palampur, District Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh.

Participant Contribution

We hope that participants will contribute an amount of Rs.5,000/- towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all on-site workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. Travel of participants will have to be borne by the organisation/the participants.

Do not let money be an impediment to your application. Need based fee waivers are available. We have a limited number of scholarships so please apply for a fee waiver if you really need it. Do remember that there may be others who need it more than you.

How to reach: Please visit Getting here

For any other info: WhatsApp or call : 889 422 7954 (between 10 am to 5 pm), or e-mail: [email protected]

To register for the workshop, please fill out this Google form.