The Supreme Court of India slammed authorities over what it called a “failure of law enforcement” after a series of rape cases in the capital Delhi and neighbouring regions.
Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said the incidents also pointed to a failure of public administration to ensure the safety of women.
They said public places like parks and buses could not become “high-risk” zones because of inadequate lighting, surveillance, or other basic facilities.
The judges made the remarks while taking suo motu cognisance of alleged rape cases reported in Delhi and neighbouring areas in recent weeks, according to Live Law. “Suo motu cognisance” means the court takes up the matter on its own, without a formal petition or complaint.
“These incidents, considered alongside other recent reports of sexual offences across Delhi NCR, starkly underline a systematic failure on part of the law enforcement and the public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety,” the judges said, according to Live Law.
The intervention came days after hundreds of Delhi University students took to the streets to protest violence against women and demand safer public spaces.
The 25 September march was prompted by the alleged gang-rape of a teenage girl inside a public park in Delhi.
The students said they were demonstrating not only against the alleged assault but also against the measures that restricted women’s movement instead of addressing the conditions that made public spaces unsafe.
They called for better lighting, improved access to public transport, and stronger security measures.
The students argued that women should be able to study, work and use public spaces without having their mobility curtailed in the name of protection.
“From Jamui in Bihar to a park in the national capital’s Kalkaji area, we’re the women who felt unsafe walking in unlit streets at night,” the students said in a statement, according to the PTI news agency.
Authorities have since announced measures like safety audits and increased policing in vulnerable areas.
Delhi’s chief minister, Rekha Gupta, acknowledged lapses following the recent cases and said security infrastructure would be strengthened.
The Delhi police separately said it had stepped up visible policing and patrols across vulnerable areas.
On Monday, Lovely Professional University in neighbouring Punjab state suspended classes and postponed exams after students launched protests over an allegation that a female student had been raped on campus.
The students reportedly clashed with police, pelted stones, and allegedly engaged in vandalism.
Police said they were investigating the allegation, which the university denied as “false, baseless and fabricated rumours”.
In August, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a bus driver and his helper in Greater Noida near the Indian capital, according to police and media reports.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, India reports more than 80 rapes every day.
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