"Painful Parallels To Nirbhaya Case": Supreme Court On Delhi-NCR Rape Cases

The Supreme Court has taken up on its own proceedings in rape cases which have been reported from Delhi and surrounding areas in recent times, including the case of a minor who was gangraped on a sleeper bus, and observed that the incidents bore "painful similarities" with the 2012 Nirbhaya case.In 2012, the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in Delhi and her subsequent death had sparked massive protests across the country.Taking up recent rape cases suo motu, a Supreme Court bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala said these incidents clearly highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies."The reports of rape cases in Delhi-NCR starkly underline a systematic failure on the part of the law enforcement and the public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety," the bench said.Public spaces including parks and buses cannot be allowed to become high-risk zones due to inadequate lighting, poor surveillance…