The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of recent rape and sexual assault cases in Delhi-NCR, saying the incidents point to a "failure of law enforcement." A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran directed the registry to register a suo motu public interest litigation and list it for hearing.

The court cited the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old at Astha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir on September 21 and the alleged sexual assault of a minor in a sleeper bus that travelled 47 km from Greater Noida to Delhi without being intercepted, according to reports. Justice Pardiwala drew "painful parallels" to the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The bench said parks, roads, buses and metro stations could not become "zones of high risk" because of poor lighting, weak surveillance and thin patrolling. It rejected token responses, observing that "expressing solidarity is not a solution to this social evil" and that accountability must be fixed on the authorities.

Delhi Police have said they stepped up visible policing, while Chief Minister Rekha Gupta acknowledged lapses last week, according to reports. The court's demand for a measurable response puts women's safety back at the top of the national agenda.