Delhi NCR rape cases: Supreme Court orders heightened patrolling near schools, cab driver checks

In a slew of sweeping measures to curb sexual offences in the national capital, the Supreme Court has ordered enhanced patrolling around educational institutions, stringent verification of drivers operating public transport and app-based cabs, real-time monitoring of vehicle-tracking and SOS systems, and action against establishments serving liquor unlawfully.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran observed that the recurrence of sexual offences in public spaces, despite existing protocols such as anti-eve-teasing squads, called into question whether these measures were being implemented “with the degree of consistency, supervision and accountability” required.

The court accordingly made the Chief Secretary and the Delhi Police Commissioner responsible for filing periodic compliance reports, warning that the two officers would be held “personally answerable” for any lapses.

“There shall be enhanced beat patrolling on an immediate basis, across the NCT of Delhi, more particularly around educational institutions (including schools, colleges, universities and coaching institutions) and other zones which get flagged under the vulnerability mapping exercise,” the Bench directed, while adding that the police chief must apprise the court whether control-room command centres or “war rooms” were operational in the capital and detail the protocols for real-time coordination and emergency response.

The latest directions follow the court’s September 28 order taking suo motu cognisance of a spate of rape cases reported across Delhi-NCR. The court said the intervention was aimed at strengthening immediate crime-prevention and emergency-response mechanisms, while also requiring the authorities to identify gaps in existing policies and their implementation.