bout the Human Rights Defenders: Dr. Sandeep Pandey is a well know social activist, a Gandhian and an academician. He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award – considered the ‘Asian Nobel’ – in the ’emergent leadership’ category in the year 2002. Dr. Sandeep Pandey co-founded Asha for Education, one of the most respected organisations in Asia to provide education to underprivileged children. Dr. Sandeep Pandey worked for community ownership in Ballia,Uttar Pradesh and helped facilitate protests against water depletion by Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mehandiganj, a rural and agrarian area located near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Dr. Sandeep Pandey also works on right to information and other forms of citizen participation in removing corruption and improving the efficiency of governance. He also co-founded the wellknown grassroots organisation National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM). He has served as an adviser to the Indian Government’s Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE). He also led an India-Pakistan peace march to Multan, Pakistan in 2005.

Details of the Incident: According to sources, in the morning of August 11, 2019, police personnel arrived in vans at the house of Dr. Sandeep Pandey and his wife and activist Arundhati Dhuru in Lucknow. Dr. Sandeep Pandey was informed by the police that he cannot stage a protest regarding the Kashmir issue, because of prohibitory orders in Lucknow city. Dr. Sandeep Pandey and other human rights defenders belonging to various other human rights organizations of the Uttar Pradesh had planned to hold a peaceful and non-violent protest called “Stand for Kashmir” in support of people of Jammu & Kashmir on the evening of August 11, 2019 at the Gandhi statue at Hazratganj in Lucknow. Dr. Sandeep Pandey was told by the police that the prohibitory orders would be lifted after Independence Day on August 15, 2019. The activists planned to hold a peaceful candle light march in the wake of the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and the clampdown on communication services in the state. Dr. Sandeep Sources agreed to stage the protest after the prohibitory orders are lifted. Yet, the policemen remained standing outside his house and no other persons were allowed to enter or leave the house. Dr. Sandeep Pandey was prevented from leaving his house and the policemen told him that he could not step outside the house until 4 pm. Dr. Sandeep Pandey along with his wife Arundhati Dhuru were put illegal under house arrest without any warrant

or orders shown to them and a police team was deployed outside the house to prevent Dr. Sandeep Pandey from stepping out to take part in the peaceful protest. The action of the Lucknow police administration to forcibly prevent Dr. Sandeep Pandey from stepping out of his house to take part in a peaceful and non-violent protest is a blatant denial of his right to a peaceful assembly and association and a violation of constitutional provisions of India since the planned protest was intended to raise collective voice in defense of the human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Freedom to associate and assemble free of restrictions is a right guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (c) of the Constitution of India to enable people to raise their collective voices to defend and promote their human rights. Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) recognizes and protects both liberty and security of person. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 proclaims that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Right to life, liberty and security of person are precious for both individual and the society as deprivation of the aforesaid would principally mean impairing the enjoyment of other rights. Also, as per general comment No.35 on Article 9 of ICCPR, house arrest means to include a kind of deprivation of liberty involving more severe restriction of motion than mere interference with liberty of movement under Article 12 of the ICCPR. The General Comment further imposes two requirements for the benefit of persons who are deprived of liberty. First, they should be informed at the time of deprivation of liberty, the reason for the arrest and secondly the information regarding the charges which has led to such arrest. In the given context, house arrest of Dr. Sandeep Pandey and his family without following due process and without informing him about his arrest and the reason for such arrest even if it was for a day is arbitrary, unlawful and stands bad in law.