The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a sweeping preventive-policing overhaul in Delhi, directing authorities to intensify patrolling around schools, colleges, universities and coaching centres, strictly verify drivers and assistants of public transport and app-based cabs, and ensure real-time monitoring of vehicle tracking and SOS systems.
The directions were issued by a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran as the court continued hearing its suo motu case on recent rape incidents in Delhi-NCR. The court said its focus was not merely on whether safeguards existed on paper, but on whether they translated into “visible, timely and verifiable action” on the ground.
Police chief, chief secretary made accountable
The court directed the Delhi government’s chief secretary and the commissioner of police to submit periodic compliance reports. It warned that the two officers would be made “personally answerable” if the directions were not implemented with the required seriousness.
The court also ordered the creation of dedicated command centres, or “war rooms”, to monitor police patrolling and CCTV infrastructure. These centres will have to identify vulnerabilities, incidents and public complaints and ensure that an immediate response is mounted at the field level.
The bench said the exercise had two objectives: to identify and address weaknesses in existing crime-prevention and emergency-response mechanisms immediately, and to identify gaps in policy or implementation.
The proceedings follow the court’s September 28 decision to take suo motu cognisance of a series of rape cases in Delhi-NCR. The court had earlier said that public spaces could not become “zones of high risk” because of poor lighting, inadequate surveillance or lax patrolling.
Patrolling to focus on educational institutions
The court ordered an immediate increase in beat patrolling throughout Delhi, with particular attention to educational institutions and other vulnerable locations identified through an earlier vulnerability-mapping exercise.
Senior police officers will be required to regularly meet beat personnel, review local vulnerabilities and emerging patterns of delinquency, and assess whether patrolling is effective.
Existing protocols governing the deployment and halting of police control room vans will also be reviewed.
The emphasis on visible policing comes amid recent concerns over safety around public spaces and educational areas. Delhi Police had previously identified gaps in lighting and CCTV coverage in several vulnerable parks and green spaces, including Hauz Rani forest area, Bonta Park and Qudsia Bagh.
Strict checks ordered for Ola, Uber and Rapido drivers
In a significant passenger-safety measure, the court directed strict verification of drivers and assistants operating government and private buses, cabs, taxis and autorickshaws.
The requirement will also cover vehicles associated with app-based aggregators such as Ola, Uber and Rapido.
Only registered and verified persons will be permitted to operate such vehicles. Their names and photographs must be displayed prominently so passengers can identify them and report unauthorised drivers.
The court prohibited the unauthorised sub-letting of vehicles to unverified drivers and ordered periodic as well as surprise checks at vehicle checkpoints.
Violations should invite prompt regulatory action, including suspension or dismissal of drivers or assistants and seizure of vehicles wherever warranted.
Vehicle tracking and SOS systems to be tested
The authorities were directed to examine how earlier orders on vehicle-tracking devices are being implemented and integrate their monitoring with the police emergency-response system.
Vehicle-tracking systems and SOS mechanisms will have to undergo periodic and surprise checks to ensure that they remain functional.
Passengers must also be educated about how SOS systems operate, what happens once an alert is activated and how quickly assistance can be expected.
The court directed authorities to disclose the existing response protocol, identify the personnel or unit responsible for responding to SOS alerts and specify how compliance with prescribed response times is monitored.
Court seeks reports on Shishtachar Squads
The Supreme Court also focused on the functioning of Delhi Police’s “Shishtachar Squads”, which were constituted under a March 2025 Delhi Police circular to deal with eve-teasing and sexual harassment in public spaces.
The commissioner of police has been directed to submit the squads’ weekly reports for the preceding three months.
The report must provide a consolidated assessment of where and when the squads conducted drives, their frequency, the action taken and subsequent follow-up.
The police chief must also provide a detailed status report on Operation “Nirbheek” and the “Nazuk” scheme, which seek to encourage school and college-going girls to report sexual offences and harassment.
The report must explain how the safety and confidentiality of complainants are protected and what safeguards are available against retaliation, intimidation or harassment following a complaint.
Court invokes ‘Broken Windows’ theory
The bench stressed that its objective was prevention rather than merely investigating crimes after they occur.
Referring to the “Broken Windows” theory of policing, the court said apparently minor lapses such as unattended streetlights, dysfunctional CCTV cameras, dark stretches and unresolved public complaints can collectively create an impression of neglect and reduced vigilance.
The court said it was not seeking to multiply standing orders or administrative paperwork. Instead, it wanted to establish whether existing safeguards were functioning as “living instruments of preventive policing”.
The approach follows earlier police action in vulnerable areas after recent sexual-assault cases. Delhi Police had intensified area-domination and search operations around parks, subways, foot-over bridges and other locations identified as vulnerable.
Civic conditions also brought under scrutiny
The directions extend beyond policing.
Authorities have been ordered to identify trucks, heavy vehicles and other vehicles that are habitually parked in ways that obstruct visibility or create blind spots and remove them.
Unauthorised liquor shops and establishments must also be identified and dealt with. Beat officers have been directed to remain vigilant about illegal liquor supply as well as crowding and loitering around such establishments.
The court’s broader approach follows concerns that poor lighting, inadequate CCTV coverage, access-control failures and other deficiencies can increase risks in public spaces. A recent safety audit of Delhi Development Authority parks, for instance, identified gaps in security deployment, lighting, surveillance and boundary protection.
Reports due by November 6
The Supreme Court has given authorities until November 6 to file comprehensive, district-wise status reports on compliance with its earlier and latest directions.
The reports must detail measures already implemented, those that remain pending and reasons for any delay.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi government’s transport department have also been directed to participate in the proceedings.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 16.
At the same time, the bench cautioned that preventive policing must not become a licence for arbitrary or excessive use of police powers. While intervention may be necessary in appropriate circumstances, the court said such action must remain within the bounds of “legality, proportionality and accountability”.
The court’s central concern, it said, was therefore not simply whether safeguards existed, but whether they were producing sustained, visible and verifiable action on the ground.