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New Delhi, October 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to file their responses within four weeks in suo motu proceedings concerning recent cases of rape and sexual assault in Delhi-NCR, stressing that authorities must focus on preventing crimes rather than merely responding after crimes occur.
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran emphasized the need for concrete preventive measures and continuous monitoring of vulnerable public spaces to ensure the safety of women and children.
The Bench observed that measures existing only on paper would not be sufficient and called for effective implementation on the ground.
“We have to work together. We must ensure that every woman in Delhi-NCR should feel safe even at 11 pm, whether traveling on the roads or the metro,” the Bench headed by Justice Pardiwala observed.
The court said the police must create a deterrent effect among criminals and anti-social elements. “What is important is to prevent a crime, not what you do after a crime is committed,” it observed.
The Bench also questioned the effectiveness of CCTV surveillance without continuous monitoring and asked whether the Delhi Police had a mechanism to keep a constant watch over vulnerable locations. It further questioned the absence of a dedicated “war room” for monitoring and responding to incidents.
“You have to create fear in the mind of a person who is ready to commit a crime,” the court observed, emphasizing that potential offenders should be aware of severe consequences for such offences.
The proceedings stem from the Supreme Court's suo motu cognizance of reports of rape and sexual assault across Delhi-NCR.
In its September 28 order, the court had raised concerns over the safety of public spaces, including parks, roads, buses, metro stations, subways and footbridges, particularly in areas affected by inadequate lighting, poor surveillance or insufficient patrolling.
It had sought a comprehensive status report covering CCTV surveillance, emergency response systems, women's helplines, women help desks, One Stop Centres, the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offenses (ITSSO) and the Mission Shakti programme.
The Delhi Police was also directed to constitute dedicated teams in every police district to identify vulnerable locations and prepare district-wise vulnerability maps, besides conducting audits of lighting and CCTV infrastructure and increasing patrolling in identified areas.
The case follows reports of several sexual offences, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park and the alleged sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus traveling from Greater Noida to Delhi. The court had noted that the latter incident evoked painful parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case.
The matter is tentatively listed for further hearing on November 16.