PUDR / by People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

PUDR condemns the arrest of Kranthi Chaitanya, Vice-President of the Civil Liberties Committee (Andhra Pradesh unit), and fellow activist Mohan Krishna on 9 January 2026, and their subsequent remand to judicial custody on 10 January. The FIR, based on a complaint filed by the President of the Sanatana Dharma Protection Committee, a resident of Tirupati, accuses them of erecting “provocative banners.”
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The sections invoked in this case are non-bailable and carry a minimum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. The arrests, coupled with the FIR’s expansive use of criminal conspiracy provisions, signal yet another attack on activists and civil liberties organisations, many of which are already under sustained pressure following the Bhima Koregaon arrests.
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▪ India: Authorities must immediately repeal repressive new criminal laws (Amnesty International / Jul 2024)
▪ Explainer: How the Sedition Law Has Been Used in the Modi Era (The Wire / Mai 2022)