New Delhi, Oct 5: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to place their responses on record within four weeks in its suo motu proceedings concerning recent rape and sexual assault incidents in Delhi-NCR, orally observing that it was important to prevent crimes rather than taking follow-up action.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran stressed the need for effective preventive measures and continuous monitoring of vulnerable public spaces to ensure the safety of women and children.

The apex court orally remarked that merely putting measures on paper would not be sufficient and said that authorities must take concrete action to prevent crimes.

“We have to work together. We must ensure that every woman in Delhi-NCR should feel safe even at 11 p.m. whether travelling on the roads or the metro,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed.

It further said that the focus should be on preventing crime rather than merely acting after an offence has taken place.

“What is important is to prevent a crime, not what you do after a crime is committed,” the top court said, stressing that the police must create fear among “goons and anti-social elements” who are prone to committing such crimes.

The Supreme Court also questioned the Delhi Police on the effectiveness of CCTV surveillance in the absence of continuous monitoring and asked whether there was a mechanism for continuous monitoring of vulnerable areas.

It also questioned the absence of a dedicated “war room” for monitoring and responding to incidents, asking how crime could be prevented without such a mechanism.

“You have to create fear in the mind of a person who is ready to commit a crime,” the bench observed, adding that the police were required to instil the fear that committing such offences would have severe consequences.

The proceedings arise from the Supreme Court’s suo motu cognisance of a series of disturbing reports of rape and sexual assault across Delhi-NCR.

In its order passed on September 28, the apex court had expressed serious concern over the safety of public spaces, including parks, roads, buses, metro stations, subways and footbridges, observing that such places could not be allowed to become high-risk zones due to inadequate lighting, poor surveillance, or lax patrolling.

The bench had also sought a comprehensive status report on the safety arrangements in public places, the use of the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO), the Mission Shakti programme, emergency response systems, women’s helplines, CCTV coverage, women help desks and One Stop Centres.

It had directed the Delhi Police to constitute dedicated teams for each police district to identify vulnerable locations and prepare district-wise vulnerability maps. It had further ordered audits of lighting and CCTV infrastructure and intensified patrolling in identified vulnerable areas.

The proceedings came against the backdrop of several reported sexual offences, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park and the alleged sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus travelling from Greater Noida to Delhi. The apex court had observed that the latter incident raised painful parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The matter is now tentatively listed for further hearing on November 16.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 5: Sambalpur MP and former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday appealed to the people from all sections of society in his constituency to participate in a massive cleanliness drive, ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’, to be organised in Sambalpur district on October 10 under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan.

In a video message shared on his X handle, Pradhan said, “I appeal to every citizen of Sambalpur, my young friends, mothers and sisters, people’s representatives and members of various organisations to participate in this drive and contribute to cleaning their villages, hamlets, wards, localities and public places. Come, let us turn the cleanliness drive (Swachhta Abhiyan) into a mass movement and make Sambalpur a clean, beautiful and healthy district.”

Highlighting the importance attached to cleanliness and purity in Odia traditions and culture, he said, “Cleanliness is not confined merely to the four walls of our homes. Cleanliness is our way of life, our values and our character.”

The former Union minister further added that in the religious text ‘Lakshmi Purana’, it is clearly said that where there is cleanliness, Goddess Lakshmi resides there. Pradhan emphasised that no puja or religious ritual in an Odia household can be complete without cleanliness and purity.

“This is not merely an ordinary task; it is a spiritual and social value handed down to us by our ancestors,” he added.

The Sambalpur MP noted that Mahatma Gandhi regarded cleanliness not merely as a personal habit, but as the foundation of a healthy society and a better life.

Gandhiji himself participated in cleanliness drives and taught the entire nation the importance of cleanliness through his example. Pradhan also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly emphasised one message: “Swachhata Hi Seva” — cleanliness is service.

“When we keep our surroundings clean, we are serving society, the nation and our future generations. To carry forward this principle, this noble thought and the values of our culture, a massive cleanliness drive is being organised in Sambalpur district on the morning of October 10 under the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan,” noted Pradhan.

Referring to the great personalities from Sambalpur and the spiritual significance of the region, the former Union minister stated that Sambalpur is the heartland of Odia literature, culture, art and values.

“It is our paramount duty to keep this sacred land clean, beautiful, free from waste and healthy,” noted Pradhan.

Hyderabad, Oct 5: Hitting out at the Opposition for allegedly misleading the masses, Telangana BJP President R. Rao said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is not done by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but by the Election Commission of India (ECI), and that it was just a process to remove fake and dead voters from the voters’ list.

Rao said, “AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and other leaders who are opposing the SIR process should know that it is initiated by the Election Commission of India, and not the BJP.”

He added that the process was also done during the Congress’ rule, but it was not opposed then.

Rao said, “Owaisi and other leaders who are opposing SIR should know that it is a process not introduced by the BJP. It is an Election Commission process. It was also carried out during the Congress’ rule. They did not oppose it then, so why are they opposing it now?”

He said, “Even in Keralam, Congress won after SIR, but they have no answer for it. Whenever the Congress or the INDIA Bloc loses elections, they blame either the Election Commission of India or EVMs.”

He added, “Owaisi and Congress are frustrated because the BJP has been in power for the last 12 years, and it appears that it will continue to be in power, because people have lost faith in the Congress and the INDIA Bloc.”

He also said, “Therefore, Congress and Owaisi are trying to mislead the people about SIR, which is a process to delete voters who are dead, duplicate voters, or foreigners, and it is also a process where, if people are residing elsewhere, their votes must be shifted there; this is what SIR is. So there is no illegality; there is nothing to object to; there should be no objection in this regard.”

The Opposition parties staged protests at several places across the country, including at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday, accusing the Election Commission of using the SIR process to exclude voters and stating that over 13 crore names had been dropped from the draft rolls. They also alleged that the exercise could benefit the BJP.

Opposition parties have also alleged that the CEC has compromised the fairness of the electoral process and have demanded that the SIR exercise be withdrawn. The ruling BJP, however, has rejected the allegations.