Supreme Court stresses need to instill fear in anti-social elements committing crimes against women

The Supreme Court has emphasized the need to instill fear in anti-social elements committing crimes against women, observing that a prevailing sentiment exists that women remain unsafe in certain vulnerable pockets of the capital region.

A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran made the remarks on Monday during a hearing in a suo motu case titled In Re: Recent rape incidents in Delhi NCR. The court stressed that collective efforts are necessary to ensure female residents can travel safely on roads or via the metro even at late hours such as 11 pm.

Highlighting the preventive aspect of law enforcement, the bench stated that stopping crimes before they occur is more critical than actions taken afterward. The judges noted that police must generate apprehension among goons and individuals prone to committing sexual violence, adding that rape remains wholly unacceptable to society.

The apex court originally took suo motu cognisance of media reports concerning crimes against minor girls and women across the Delhi-NCR region on September 28. At that time, the bench observed that the incidents pointed to a systemic failure by law enforcement authorities.

The court’s proceedings stem from specific high-profile cases, including the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park, the gang-rape and murder of a teenage girl in Swaroop Nagar, and the sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus. The bench noted that law enforcement agencies had failed to intercept the bus despite it traveling a distance of over 47 kilometres from Greater Noida to Delhi.