Hyderabad: The Telangana chapter of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) organised a statewide Para Legal Activist (PLA) and Volunteer Training Boot Camp in Hyderabad on June 14, bringing together legal practitioners, students, social workers, and civil society representatives from across the state to strengthen grassroots legal awareness and civil rights advocacy.
Held at the Montfort Social Institute in Ramanthapur under the theme “Justice Through Awareness: Building the Shield of Constitutional Liberties,” the day-long programme aimed to equip participants with practical legal knowledge, documentation skills, and constitutional literacy to enhance APCR’s district-level legal awareness and rapid-response network.
The boot camp attracted significant interest, receiving 167 registrations from individuals committed to promoting civil rights and legal awareness. Despite transportation and logistical challenges that prevented several participants from distant districts from attending, more than 75 delegates took part in the training. Organisers said attendance could have crossed 100 under normal travel conditions.
In his inaugural address, APCR Telangana Secretary Dr. Mohammed Shaik Osman stressed the importance of building decentralised legal support systems capable of responding swiftly to civil rights violations. He underscored the need for disciplined district and zonal teams to provide timely legal assistance, documentation support, and community guidance during emergencies.
The first technical session, titled “Navigating the New Laws: Arrest and Rights of the Accused,” was conducted by Advocate Akmal Rizvi, Secretary of APCR Karnataka and an advocate at the Karnataka High Court. The session focused on procedural safeguards available to citizens under evolving criminal laws and examined concerns related to the implementation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Participants were trained on legal protections available during arrest and investigation processes.
The second session on “Police Complaints, FIR and Zero FIR Mechanics” was led by Advocate V. Raghunath, a member of the Bar Council and advocate at the Telangana High Court. Participants received practical guidance on drafting complaints, understanding the concept of Zero FIR, and pursuing legal remedies when police authorities decline to register complaints.
Advocate Raghunath also conducted the third session on fact-finding and systematic documentation, where attendees learned techniques for conducting field investigations, interviewing affected individuals, preserving evidence, and preparing objective fact-finding reports.
The fourth session focused on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and voting rights. Led by APCR Karnataka’s Shazin Siddiqui, the session familiarised participants with voter-roll revision processes and lawful methods of community engagement to ensure eligible voters remain informed about electoral procedures and documentation requirements.
The training concluded with a simulation workshop that moved beyond theory to practical application. Participants were divided into groups and assigned real-life legal and rights-related situations requiring them to draft complaints, prepare legal documents, analyse procedural responses, and collaborate on problem-solving exercises designed to improve field readiness.
During an open-floor discussion at the end of the programme, participants proposed several recommendations, including the creation of a digital tracking system for monitoring statutory timelines in sensitive legal cases, development of digitised electoral data management systems, expansion of voter-rights and legal-literacy workshops across vulnerable districts, and the institutionalisation of quarterly review meetings for trained activists.
Other suggestions included year-round community legal awareness campaigns, greater use of interactive and task-oriented training methods, and the establishment of secure communication channels to improve coordination among activists and legal support networks.
Organisers described the boot camp as a significant milestone in APCR Telangana’s efforts to build informed and constitutionally grounded grassroots leadership. They reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to strengthening access to justice, protecting civil liberties, and empowering citizens through legal education and community engagement across Telangana.
