The Supreme Court on Monday told the Delhi Police to rise to the challenge of preventing rape and other crimes against women and girls in the Capital by creating a strong deterrent among criminals that they would be “doomed” if caught committing such acts.

The bench directed police to focus on bus stops, metro stations, railway stations, schools and colleges. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

Hearing a suo motu case on recent rape incidents in the city, a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said the police needed to shift their focus from apprehending offenders after a crime to preventing such incidents through intensified patrolling and surveillance.

The court told police that crimes against women were a serious problem and that ensuring their safety could not be achieved merely by issuing guidelines and directions that were poorly implemented on the ground.

“What is happening today is that you catch hold of the culprits and put them behind bars. What is important is to prevent such crimes,” the bench said.

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Reminding the police of their duty towards the citizens of ensuring their safety, the court said, “Every woman or girl who is molested or raped is our sister or mother. Do not let us down but rise to the occasion and don’t allow these things to happen, no matter if it requires some harsh measures to be taken.”

With the festival season approaching, the bench warned that anti-social elements could become more active during the intervening holidays.

“With this intervening holidays during the festive season, these miscreants, goons and anti-social elements will be at their peak. Focus on intensifying patrolling. Concentrate on bus stops, metros, railway stations, schools and colleges where women are vulnerable,” it said.

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“People should not run away from you but must come to meet you and talk to you. Your response to them should comfort them,” the bench said on Monday.

The court had on September 28 directed a slew of measures to be taken by the police which included audit of all public places, parks, metro stations and bus stands and enhanced day and night patrolling of vulnerable areas in every district. It reserved orders on passing another set of directions in continuation of its previous orders.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the police, said a comprehensive response would be filed before the next hearing detailing steps taken to ensure women’s safety in the city.

The bench said, “Merely putting out guidelines and directions on paper will not help. You need to get it into action as the endeavour should be to ensure rape, etc is done away with.”

The court told Mehta to ensure recruitment and training of constables so that such crimes could be prevented. Mathew also suggested fixing accountability of police personnel who failed to carry out patrolling, resulting in crimes.

The bench told senior police officials that installing CCTV cameras at vulnerable spots would not be enough unless their feeds were regularly monitored.

“You need to have a huge monitoring cell where one suspicious movement can be tracked and action can be taken immediately to prevent a crime,” it said, posting the matter for November 16.

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The court said the picture could become clearer from the response to be filed by the Delhi government.

The September 28 order had also directed the Delhi government and the registrar general of the Delhi High Court to file responses on steps taken to ensure speedy trials of sexual offences against women.

The bench had said public spaces such as parks, roads and buses could not be allowed to become “zones of high risk” and questioned whether lessons had been learnt from the 2012 Nirbhaya case. It also linked the issue of public safety to the fundamental right to live with dignity and without violence under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The audit also flagged problems with boundary security, gates, toilets and abandoned structures in several parks. More than 30 locations at Aastha Kunj itself have since been identified for installation of CCTV cameras, with officials noting that the park has secluded stretches and wooded areas that make surveillance difficult.

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

The court's latest observation comes as the debate over women's safety has increasingly focused not only on policing but also on whether women can freely access and use public spaces after dark.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta has said that ensuring women's safety cannot mean imposing restrictions on girls and women. She has called for better lighting, CCTV cameras and additional security personnel at vulnerable locations, while urging that cases involving women and girls be expedited.