Ex-president and one of the founder members of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), senior advocate in Allahabad High Court and a fearless human rights defender Ravi Kiran Jain passed away on the night of 28-29 December at a hospital in Allahabad. He was among those few prominent voices in the country who fearlessly opposed state repression on activists, workers, peasants, minorities and other vulnerable sections. He had challenged many draconian laws in the court. He fought many cases of human rights violations in the court and provided relief for the victims.

He challenged attempts to undermine or distort the basic constitutional premises by the Congress regime since the 1970s, and later by the Modi-Shah BJP government, inside the courts as well as outside by putting forth his logical, constitutional and humane viewpoints.  A relentless fighter for secularism, environmental justice, he was an open critique of the pro-corporate neo-liberal economic policies and used to lend his active support to every movement for the rights of the people.