Bench flags concerns over safety in public spaces and directs registration of suo motu PIL on recurring incidents involving minors
New Delhi, Sept 2026 : The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of recent cases of rape and sexual assault reported in Delhi-NCR, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at a park near Kalkaji Mandir and the alleged sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran expressed concern over the recurring reports of sexual offences in the National Capital Region and directed the Supreme Court Registry to register a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) and place it before the appropriate Bench for hearing. The court's intervention comes amid a series of cases that have raised questions about safety in public places and the response of law-enforcement authorities.
The Bench observed that the incidents, viewed alongside other recent reports of sexual offences in Delhi-NCR, raised serious concerns about the functioning of authorities responsible for public safety, law enforcement and administration.
The court emphasised that the right to live with dignity and without fear of violence is an integral part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
It also stressed that public spaces such as parks, roads, buses, metro stations, subways and footbridges cannot become high-risk areas because of preventable administrative shortcomings, including inadequate lighting, surveillance or patrolling. The court called for a measurable response from authorities and stressed the need to establish accountability among officials responsible for preventing crime, maintaining public order and protecting vulnerable people.
The proceedings include the recent alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir. According to police, the girl had visited Kalkaji Mandir with a male friend before entering the nearby park, where three men allegedly approached them while posing as police officers.
The men allegedly threatened the girl and her friend and took away their mobile phones. Police said the girl was subsequently taken towards an isolated section of the park, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted. One of the accused allegedly displayed a firearm while threatening her.
A police control room call led to the deployment of police personnel to the area. One of the accused was later apprehended following an exchange of fire with police and sustained a gunshot injury. Police subsequently arrested the other accused as well. The case is being investigated under relevant provisions, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The Supreme Court's suo motu proceedings also cover the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl inside a moving sleeper bus in the Greater Noida-Delhi region.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the girl, from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, had travelled to Greater Noida on August 4 to visit her cousin. After missing her stop, she reportedly boarded another bus after confirming its destination. The NHRC said she was allegedly assaulted by the bus driver and conductor and later left at the Kashmere Gate bus terminal in Delhi.
The NHRC had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the reported incident and issued notices to the Police Commissioners of Delhi and Gautam Buddh Nagar and the Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri. It sought detailed reports on the status of the investigation and whether compensation had been provided to the survivor.
Police arrested the bus driver and conductor and seized the vehicle for forensic examination. Investigators also examined CCTV footage along the route as part of efforts to reconstruct the movement of the bus and establish the sequence of events.
The Supreme Court's decision places the broader issue of public safety and prevention of sexual offences in Delhi-NCR under judicial scrutiny. The court's emphasis on accountability, surveillance, lighting, patrolling and administrative preparedness indicates that the proceedings will examine not only individual criminal cases but also measures required to make public spaces safer.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
