The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the gang-rape of a minor in a moving bus in Delhi-NCR, observing that such cases underline a systematic failure on the part of law enforcement authorities.
A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran observed that they were distressed by the news reports regarding recurring sexual offences in the National Capital Region, and stressed the need to fix accountability and also added that one cannot help but draw painful parallels to the Nirbhaya incident of 2012.
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According to Live Law, the bench said, " The reports of rape cases in Delhi-NCR starkly underline a systematic failure on the part of the law enforcement and the public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety".
In the order, the bench referred to the gangrape and murder of a teenage girl in Swarup Nagar in Delhi, where the police recovered the victim's decomposed body in a field. Referring to the sexual assault of a minor in a moving sleeping bus, which the police failed to intercept during its travel of 47 kilometres from Greater Noida to Delhi, the Court said that “one cannot help but draw painful parallels to the Nirbhaya incident of 2012.”
"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 bench observed.
The right to live with dignity and without fear of violence is part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The top court said public spaces, including parks and buses, cannot be permitted to become zones of high risk due to a lack of illumination, poor surveillance, and other administrative facilities.
The bench stated that the statements made by public authorities and elected representatives expressing concerns and solidarity are not enough, and said accountability had to be fixed for failures that contributed to such incidents.
“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," the bench observed.
(With agency inputs from PTI)
