Advocate
Ira Gupta and Dr KK Aggarwal
In
the matter titled as “Pramanshi & Others versus Union of India &
Others, W.P. C. No. 2624/2018, the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Delhi High Court
has vide judgement dated 11.02.2019 has held that they are satisfied
that sufficient and appropriate steps have been taken by the Delhi Police to
ensure the safety, security and protection of the women in Delhi.
The
writ petition was filed seeking following prayers:
“In view of the above facts and circumstances,
it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to
issue a Writ of Mandamus or Order / Direction /declaration to:
i. Direct
Respondents no.4 and 5 to convene an Expert Committee to chalk out guidelines
and put in place regulations and protocols to ensure women safety during
occasions such as Holi.
ii. Direct
the Respondent no. 1, 2 and 3 to initiate an exercise of mapping of all
vulnerable areas with regard to women safety.
iii. Direct
the Respondents no.1 and 3 to institute women PCRs and increase the number of
women police booths in all areas throughout the year.
iv. Direct
Respondentsno.1, 3, 4 and 5 to monitor social media and also create a dedicated
anonymous dropbox for victim complaints of incidents offline and online.
v. Direct
the Respondents no.4 and 5 to create a cadre of support persons to act as
intermediaries between the victim and law enforcement agencies.
vi. Pass
any such Order as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts
and circumstances of the case.
In
reply to the said petition, a status report was filed by the Delhi Police in
which following was narrated:
“3. That it is most respectfully submitted
that the Answering Respondent
is conscious of the issue of safety and security of women in the
city and has taken the following steps to ensure the same:-
3.1 Under the Shashakti Scheme, Self Defence
Training is being imparted
to women by training teams of Special Police Unit for Women and
Children (“SPUWAC”). These trainings are conducted in schools,
colleges, community centres, parks, jhuggi jhopri clusters among
others.
3.2 A number of other programmes organized by
SPUWAC are being
conducted to empower women. One day workshops are conducted to
create social awareness. Street Plays are organised in the areas
where crimes against women is on the rise.
3.3 Under the Nirbheek Scheme, the Answering
Respondent pays regular
visits to schools and interacts with girl students to educate them
about basic precautions against sexual abuse and to report about
crimes, Gender sensitization sessions are also organized for boys
and girls in schools and colleges.
3.4 Under the Sishtachar scheme, women police
officers dressed in
plain clothes are posted at busy places like markets, metro stations,
cinema halls, bus stops to keep a watch on miscreants.
3.5 A 24 hours helpline vide number 1091 for
women in distress is operational.
3.6 Separate specialized women Police team is
functional to attend
to women in distress on round the clock basis.
3.7. Cyber Highway adopted by the Answering
Respondent, which connect
all the police stations to respond promptly in circumstance where a
distress call is received. Officer / s from the concerned police
station and a Patrol Vehicle closest to the location from where a
call is received reaches the distress at the earliest possible time.
3.8 An SMS response to the distressed caller
is sent to inform her /
him of the details of the Mobile Patrol Vehicle. The response time to
attend to the distressed caller is between 2 minutes and 37 minutes.
3.9 Another project by the name of Emergency
Response Support system
which can be accessed by dialing 112 is in progress.
3.10 Police Control Room take note of areas
wherein public lights are
malfunctioning and inform the concerned civil agencies on a regular
basis. Mobile Applications and web portal are in the process of
being devised.
3.11. A Smart phone based
„HIMMAT‟ is already in place to help women in distress by which an
SOS alert is raised and it reaches family members as well as the
Police Control Room. The location, video and an audio of 10 seconds
can also be shared with the Police Control Room. The location of
the women in distress is updated every 10 seconds.
3.12. Under the Scheme “Ab Nahi Hai Darna
and Bharosa‟, women are
apprised about their rights and men are sensitized about stringent
action taken in crime against women.
3.13. CCTV cameras are being installed at
vulnerable areas in the city and the Answering Respondent is coordinating
for the installation of the said cameras on the basis of Crime
Mapping Study carried out by the Answering respondent. During this exercise,
vulnerable areas in 44 Police Stations have been identified. The
said list of areas has been provided to the Public Works Department,
Govt. of NCT of Delhi on 30.07.2018. As on date 4388 CCTV cameras
have been installed in Delhi by the Answering Respondent. It is
most respectfully submitted that efforts are being made to install
CCTV cameras by October, 2018 in all the 192 police stations and
chowkies of the Answering Respondent.
3.14 In pursuance of the order of this
Hon‟ble Court in Court on its Own Motion v. Union of India, W.P.(C)
7927 of 2012, the Assistant Commissioner /s of Police have been
designated as Nodal Officers for monitoring crimes against women in
their respective sub divisions.
3.15 The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India has developed
a centralized online reporting portal (www.cyberpolice.gov.in) for dealing with the
complaints concerning
Child pornography, Rape, Gang Rape among others. The Cyber Crime
Cell of the Answering Respondent has been designated as the Nodal Cyber Crime
Cell to deal with such complaints. The Cyber Crime Cell ensures
prompt blocking / removal of the contents circulated on the
internet.”
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of Medical
Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of India
Past National President IMA
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