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Are you even interested in safety of women & kids? Delhi HC asks Home Ministry

Anguished High Court pulls up Home Ministry, directs it to clear all hurdles within a month so that Delhi Police have enough personnel to deploy at several spots in the city

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to clear all hurdles, including those of funds, within four weeks to enable the Delhi Police to create additional posts so that it may have enough personnel to ensure safety of women and children. The court further expressed its anguish and disappointment with the delay in implementation of several key measures towards women's safety.

"This is an unending badminton rally being played among various departments, with no end in sight," Justice Ahmed said. The Bench expressed disappointment that four years after the issue was first raised by the court, following a nation-wide outcry over the infamous Nirbhaya rape and murder case, the matters still remained unresolved. "I do not know whom to ask anymore," Ahmed said, adding, "Are you (MHA) interested in doing anything for the country, or your own city?"

Taking note of a pilot project introduced by the Delhi Police, the court directed the state police to redeploy the all-women Police Control Room (PCR) vans to vulnerable spots, as opposed to patrolling relatively safe neighbourhoods, such as the Lutyens' Zone. "Refer to the 44 vulnerable spots identified as part of the crime mapping drive recently undertaken and send the women PCR teams there," the court said.

Following the recent rape and attempted murder of a three-year-old in a North Delhi locality, the court allowed a petition submitted by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and made the statutory committee an intervenor in the ongoing public interest litigation (PIL).

In the petition filed on Tuesday, the DCW made several suggestions towards ensuring women's safety in the city, including the resurgence of the now-defunct Special Task Force (STF) to deal with crimes against women. The DCW also demanded political accountability, installation of CCTV cameras inside buses and at bus stops, illumination of dark spots in the city, and creches for children of daily-wage labourers.

Finally, towards the end of the marathon session, the court heard Meera Bhatia, Amicus Curiae in this matter, who said the Victim Compensation Scheme (VCS) was still not notified, despite getting approval from all stakeholders.

Dharmesh Sharma, Member Secretary of the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA), further admitted that victims in almost 60 cases had not been compensated due to the ongoing demonetization drive. "The banks are overwhelmed and there is a delay in transfer of money," Sharma submitted.

The court finally directed that the victims should be compensated within 24 hours and asked the stakeholders to notify the scheme within two weeks.

In the court

The Bench allows DCW to be an intervenor in the ongoing PIL on safety of women and children in the city.
Pulls up the Home Ministry for not clearing funds to create additional posts in the Delhi Police.
Seeks explanation on the Home Ministry's experimental project of introducing a national emergency number, 112.
Seeks a detailed response on time lapse between the moment a PCR call is placed and the moment a PCR van reaches the spot.
Pulls up the government for not yet notifying the Victims Compensation Scheme, which ensures compensation to a victim within 24 hours of conclusion of the case.
Directs Delhi Police to redeploy the five all-women PCR vans to vulnerable spots.
Pulls up the police force for poorly stocking biological and chemical samples collected from the crime scenes.

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