‘Women Must Feel Safe Walking At 10 PM’: Supreme Court Flags Delhi-NCR Safety Concerns

“We must ensure every woman in NCT Delhi feels safe, whether walking at 10 PM or travelling by metro or road,” a Supreme Court bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala said while hearing a suo motu case concerning recent rape and sexual assault incidents in Delhi-NCR.

The court’s intervention comes amid a series of cases involving women and minors across the National Capital Region. On September 28, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the incidents, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji, the alleged gang rape of a minor in Swaroop Nagar and the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl inside a bus travelling from Greater Noida to Delhi.

Supreme Court Flags Safety Of Public Spaces

The bench said public spaces such as parks, roads and buses cannot be allowed to become “zones of high risk”. It also questioned whether adequate lessons had been learnt from the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The court linked the issue of public safety to the fundamental right to live with dignity and without violence under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Aastha Kunj Case Triggers Safety Audit

The alleged gang rape of the 17-year-old at Aastha Kunj Park on September 21 triggered widespread protests and renewed scrutiny of security arrangements in Delhi’s parks.

A subsequent Delhi Development Authority (DDA) safety audit found that only 16 of the 736 DDA-managed parks had CCTV cameras. The audit classified 190 parks as high-risk, while 520 were identified as requiring additional lighting and 323 as needing additional CCTV cameras.

The audit also flagged concerns involving boundary security, gates, toilets and abandoned structures at several parks.

At Aastha Kunj, more than 30 locations have since been identified for CCTV installation. Officials have also pointed to the park’s secluded stretches and wooded areas, which can make surveillance difficult.

Court Flags ‘Systemic Failure’

The Supreme Court has criticised what it described as a “systemic failure” by the Delhi government and police to ensure basic public safety and called for an audit of public spaces across the capital.

The court’s latest observation comes amid growing focus on not only policing but also whether women can safely and freely access public spaces after dark.

Rekha Gupta Calls For Better Security

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said that ensuring women’s safety should not mean imposing restrictions on girls and women.

She has called for improved lighting, wider CCTV coverage and additional security personnel at vulnerable locations. She has also urged authorities to expedite cases involving women and girls.