'Ensure safety even at 10pm': SC tells Delhi authorities to be 'very harsh'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stressed the need to ensure the safety of women in Delhi, saying authorities must focus on preventing crimes rather than only acting after an offence has been committed.A bench led by Justice Pardiwala was hearing a suo motu case concerning recent rape incidents in Delhi-NCR."There appears to be a feeling that women are not safe in city particularly in some vulnerable pockets," the Supreme Court observed.

The court said authorities must ensure women feel safe while travelling or moving around the national capital."We must ensure every woman in NCT Delhi feels safe, whether walking at 10 PM or travelling by metro or road," the bench told the Centre and Delhi Police.The Supreme Court also cautioned that any deficiencies in the existing system should not create conditions that facilitate crime."Deficiencies, if any, should not facilitate commission of crime," the court said."What is important is to prevent crime, not what you do after crime is committed," the Supreme Court observed.