Recent Delhi rape cases point to failures in law enforcement: SC
text_fields
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has drawn parallels between the 2012 Nirbhaya case and recent rape incidents in Delhi-NCR, saying the latest cases point to failures in law enforcement and public safety. Taking suo motu cognisance of the incidents, the court stressed that public spaces such as buses and parks cannot become high-risk areas due to inadequate surveillance, lighting, and other safety measures.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said, “One cannot help but draw painful parallels to the Nirbhaya incident of 2012”, The Indian Express quoted.
“These incidents, considered alongside other recent reports of sexual offences across Delhi-NCR, starkly underline a systematic failure on the part of the law enforcement and the public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety,” the court said.
The observations came against the backdrop of recent multiple rape cases in the national capital, including the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl on a moving sleeper bus in Greater Noida. The Supreme Court's intervention has brought renewed attention to concerns over women's safety in Delhi-NCR.
The court underlined that the right to life under Article 21 included the right to lead a dignified life, free from the fear of violence.
“Expressions of solidarity devoid of accountability fall short of answering the larger institutional question. Expressing solidarity is not a solution to this social evil. What is required is a measurable response with the responsibility and accountability fixed upon authorities entrusted with the prevention of crimes, maintenance of public order and protection of vulnerable persons,” TIE quoted the court.
The court's reference to Nirbhaya recalled the December 16, 2012, attack in which a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six men aboard a moving bus in South Delhi. She was later shifted to Singapore for treatment but died on December 29, triggering massive protests across the country.
Six men were arrested in the case. Four—Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh—were eventually executed at Tihar Jail in March 2020. Ram Singh, the bus driver and another accused, was found dead in prison in 2013, with authorities reporting his death as a suicide. The juvenile accused was tried separately and later released after completing his sentence.
The latest Supreme Court intervention has once again placed accountability and public safety at the centre of the debate over sexual violence in the capital.