India’s Supreme Court calls for accountability over Delhi rape cases

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court on Monday called for greater accountability following a series of reported rape cases in New Delhi and surrounding areas, with local media quoting the court as describing the incidents as indicative of failures in law enforcement.

The remarks came after hundreds of students protested in the capital last week, calling for stronger measures to protect women following allegations that a teenager was gang-raped by three men at a park.

Local media also reported that a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped last month while travelling on a bus, with the driver and conductor accused in the case. The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, widely known as the Nirbhaya case, also involved the brutal sexual assault of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student aboard a moving bus in South Delhi.

According to legal news outlet Live Law, the Supreme Court said public places such as parks and buses should not become unsafe areas because of inadequate lighting, surveillance or other basic facilities.

The court said fixing accountability was necessary and directed its administration to file a public interest petition on the issue for the court to pursue, legal news website Bar and Bench said. Sexual violence is a major problem across India, with more than 80 rapes reported to police every day, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta told a TV channel last week that there had been lapses and vowed to improve security, while Delhi Police said it had increased “visible policing” and intensified patrolling.