Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance of Rape Incidents in Delhi NCR, Orders Safety Audit of Public Spaces

The Court acted on news reports of a series of sexual offences in Delhi NCR: an alleged gang rape in a public park, near which college students had earlier complained of recurring harassment; an alleged gang rape and murder of a teenage girl; and an alleged sexual assault of a minor in a moving sleeper bus that law enforcement failed to intercept over a distance of more than 47 km (paras 1-4). It saw in these a systemic failure of law enforcement and civic authorities, recalling the 2012 Nirbhaya case (paras 4-5). The matter was registered as a suo motu writ petition in public interest (para 15).

The Court held that the right to live with dignity, free from the fear of violence, is an intrinsic facet of Article 21, and public spaces cannot become high-risk zones because of poor lighting, weak surveillance or lax patrolling (para 5). "Expressing solidarity is not the solution to this social evil"; a measurable response with accountability fixed on the authorities is required (para 6). The proceedings are not about individual guilt, which must be decided through due process, but about institutional failures (para 8). The authorities must report whether measures actually operate on the ground, including the National Database on Sexual Offenders, the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences, Mission Shakti, the 112 and 181 helplines, the Safe City Project, Women Help Desks and One Stop Centres (paras 9-11). Within four weeks, Delhi Police must survey vulnerable areas, prepare district vulnerability maps, deploy patrolling, audit lighting and CCTV, use citizen complaints, and enforce the ban on tinted vehicle films under Avishek Goenka (para 12). The Delhi High Court must report on Fast Track Special Courts and Exclusive POCSO Courts and assign these cases to a designated fast-track court (paras 13-14).