The Supreme Court, in the matter concerning suo motu cognizance of the gang-rape of a minor in a moving bus in Delhi-NCR and other similar matters, has asked the Delhi Police and civic administration to institute preventive measures to guarantee that every woman and young girl in the National Capital Territory feels safe, even late at night.

The Court said that preventing crimes before they occur is paramount, noting that post-offence law enforcement action does not remedy systemic failures.

The Court had passed a series of strict, time-bound directions to the Delhi Police, civil administration, and judiciary to address systemic security lapses across the National Capital Region. The Court mandated immediate 4-week safety audits, district-wise vulnerability mapping, and the restoration of lighting and CCTV infrastructure in high-risk zones.

The Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran said that it will pass a detailed order, which will be uploaded later and listed the matter for further hearing on November 16.

Justice Pardiwala said, "Let's try our best to ensure that these types of crimes are not committed repeatedly. The only concern with which we have taken this suo motu is that there appears to be a feeling that women are not safe in the city, more particularly some vulnerable pockets of the city...So, we need to deliberate a little. This will take some time before we issue final directions, before you start working on our directions. But the only concern is that the deficiencies, if any, should not lead to—should not facilitate the commission of a crime. What is important is to prevent the crime, not what you do after the crime is committed. There is no doubt. We have to work together. We must ensure that every young girl, every woman in the NCT of Delhi should remain—should feel safe even at 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock in the night, whether she is travelling by metro, whether she is walking on the streets."


Senior Advocate Liz Mathew appeared as Amicus Curiae, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union.

The matter arose after 1. the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old victim at Aastha Kunj Park in Delhi; 2. incidents of existing complaints of recurrent sexual harassment faced by students of Lady Shri Ram College for Women; 3. news reports regarding the alleged gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in the Swaroop Nagar area of Delhi, where the police reportedly recovered the victim’s decomposed body from a field, in a partially scavenged state; 4. alleged sexual assault of a minor girl inside a moving sleeper bus, which law enforcement agencies failed to intercept while it traversed a distance of over 47 Km from Greater Noida to Delhi.

Mehta submitted, "We are doing this for our daughters, My Lord. The same thing would apply to my daughter, your daughter.. since thee last two-three days, I was sitting with Delhi Police, the GNCTD of Delhi, the Women and Child Development—because they have certain areas which they cover—then DDA, MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), and NDMC. With their Chairman, the Chief Secretary, and all officials who can take decisions. We have put things together to ensure that we can present it before Your Lordships and share it with the learned amicus—what the system is, how it is functioning. Because mere system being there is not enough; we will have to show that it's functioning also and it is giving results also."

Justice Pardiwala said, "What we have in mind is, we will put it by way of an order also, so that you can read the order, you can start working on it, and then you can place before us how you propose to implement it, right?"

The Court highlighted critical operational gaps, specifically pointing out that electronic surveillance through CCTV networks would remain ineffective in curbing crime without real-time, continuous monitoring from dedicated command centres.

Addressing senior police officials present in the courtroom, the Bench stressed that the maintenance of law and order fell squarely within the executive domain and urged law enforcement to adopt a proactive, stringent stance rather than relying on paper compliance.

The Court said to the officers, "Tell us one thing: you are a police officer, you have a wealth of experience, you have that expertise also, and your function is to maintain law and order...When we are talking about surveillance through CCTV cameras, just tell us: how far these CCTV cameras will be helpful in curbing the crime if there is no continuous monitoring over those cameras at different war rooms?...For example, a CCTV camera may capture who entered the park, whether they entered under suspicious circumstances or not. Crime is committed within the precincts of the park, they come out—that will help you in catching hold of that culprit, right? But then, how do you prevent such crimes?...Today, this entire exercise which we want to undertake with your assistance, with your guidance—see, maintenance of law and order is within your domain. We just want to push this issue a little further so that, as far as possible, we are able to restrict the commission of such crimes, more particularly sexual assaults."

The Court directed the authorities to submit a comprehensive status report detailing the functional status of CCTV infrastructure, lighting, and security deployments across public parks and other vulnerable transit hubs like metro stations and educational campuses.

Reiterating that law enforcement must rise to the occasion without fear of administrative backlash, the Bench stressed the urgent need to instil a strong sense of deterrence among miscreants to restore public confidence in women's safety.

Previously, the Court had directed the concerned authorities to file a comprehensive report addressing the following:

1. Measures undertaken to ensure adequate safety and security arrangements in public places, including parks, roads, public transport facilities, markets, educational institutions and other areas frequented by women and children.

2. The manner in which the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) is presently being utilised by the Delhi Police.

3. The manner in which the Ministry of Home Affairs is utilising the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO), which was stated to have been launched as an online analytical tool for monitoring and tracking time-bound investigations in sexual-offence cases.

4. The manner in which the Mission Shakti programme, which was launched as an umbrella programme concerning the safety, security and empowerment of women, is operational in Delhi.

Accordingly, the Court listed the matter for further hearing and compliance on November 16.

Cause Title: IN RE: Recent Rape Incidents in Delhi NCR [Suo Moto Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 6/2026]

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