Court takes suo motu cognisance, directs police to map high-risk areas and strengthen patrolling
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of recent crimes against minor girls and women across Delhi-NCR, directing the police to survey vulnerable areas and intensify surveillance.
A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran asked the Delhi police commissioner, the chief secretary and other officials to submit data on the corrective measures being taken to address “concerns regarding the safety and security of public spaces in and around the city.”
“A stark reminder”
The bench described the harrowing account of the 17-year-old survivor of the alleged gang rape at Aastha Kunj Park as a stark reminder of the persistent vulnerabilities women and children face in spaces that should be safe and open to all.
The case, the court noted, also exposed earlier complaints of repeated sexual harassment faced by students of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, located close to the park.
“Regrettably, these prior grievances failed to serve as a wake-up call for the police or the local administration to rectify institutional security lapses through enhanced patrolling and vigilance,” the bench said.
Other cases flagged
The court said it was “equally distressed” by reports of the alleged gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar, where police recovered the victim’s decomposed body from a field.
It also pointed to the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl inside a moving sleeper bus, which, the bench said, “law enforcement agencies failed to intercept while it traversed a distance of over 47km from Greater Noida to Delhi.” The court drew a parallel with the 2012 Nirbhaya case.
Underlining the constitutional stakes, the court held that the right to live with dignity and free from fear of violence is an intrinsic part of the guarantee of life and personal liberty under Article 21.
What the court has directed
In its interim order, the court asked the Delhi police commissioner to deploy dedicated teams in each police district, each headed by an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police. These teams are to carry out an immediate survey and inspection of vulnerable pockets, including outskirts, isolated stretches, parks, transport hubs, markets and educational-institution zones.
The audit is to draw on National Crime Records Bureau data, local intelligence, past and present complaints and other objective indicators. Teams must identify locations with poor lighting, inadequate surveillance, insufficient patrolling and abandoned structures.
The court further ordered that a district-wise vulnerability map be prepared and shared with adjoining police stations, so that information on recurring crime patterns and habitual offenders is “not confined to individual police-station jurisdictions.” All identified public parks and vulnerable areas, the bench added, should be patrolled at all times.
