The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognizance of recent rape and sexual assault cases in Delhi-NCR, including the gangrape and murder of a teenage girl in Swarup Nagar and the alleged sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran expressed distress over the recurring incidents and questioned whether law enforcement mechanisms had made meaningful progress since the 2012 Nirbhaya case. Referring to the bus assault, where police reportedly failed to intercept the vehicle during its 47-km journey from Greater Noida to Delhi, the bench said the incident drew “painful parallels” with Nirbhaya.
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The court observed that the cases, along with other reported sexual offences across Delhi-NCR, pointed to a “systematic failure” by law enforcement and public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety.
It said roads, parks, buses, Metro stations, subways and footbridges cannot become “zones of high risk” because of inadequate lighting, poor surveillance or lack of patrolling.
The bench further said expressions of concern and solidarity from authorities were insufficient and called for measurable responses, with responsibility and accountability fixed on officials entrusted with crime prevention and public safety.
The court directed that a suo motu case be registered to examine the issue.
