Underlining the need to take preventive measures against sexual offences, the Supreme Court on Monday (October 5, 2026) asked the Delhi Police to set up 24-hour monitoring cells for continuous surveillance of vulnerable areas. The court also asked the police to strengthen patrolling, particularly around educational institutions and public spaces.
“It has been reported that before this unfortunate incident occurred, residents of that area had brought it to your notice that there are some anti-social elements who are creating nuisance… A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran observed that the mere installation of CCTV cameras in public spaces would serve little purpose without continuous monitoring to detect suspicious activity and enable a swift police response. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, acknowledged that there appeared to be deficiencies in police patrolling. Nobody paid any heed to it. Justice Pardiwala also stressed the need to instil a fear of the law among potential offenders as a deterrent against such crimes. Referring to the upcoming festival holidays, he asked the Delhi Police to heighten vigilance to ensure that such incidents did not recur. Senior advocate Liz Mathew, assisting the court as amicus curiae , submitted that despite the existence of the Delhi Police’s ‘Shishtachar’ force, which is aimed at preventing sexual harassment of women in public spaces, little information was publicly available on its functioning or the action taken by it.
The Bench also pointed to reports that, even prior to the gangrape of a 17-year-old at New Delhi’s Astha Kunj Park , near Lady Shri Ram College, residents of the area had repeatedly flagged safety concerns in the locality to the police, but their concerns remained unaddressed. Therefore, what is important is one-to-one interaction with society.
You are the protector,” the Bench said, addressing senior police officers present in court.
The court was hearing a suo motu case concerning a spate of sexual assault incidents involving minors and women in the Delhi-National Capital Region.
It had earlier indicated that it intended to fix accountability on authorities entrusted with preventing crime and protecting vulnerable persons.
