No safety in Delhi, it has to come back: SC

Bench also admits plea for complete ban on two-finger test to ascertain sexual assault.

The Supreme Court on Friday observed that there was no safety for women in Delhi and recurrence of sexual offences had become a cause of serious worry.

Underlining that it was concerned about restoring a "safe environment" to women in Delhi, a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said: "There is no safety in the city and it has to come back." The bench pointed out that the December 16 gangrape case was not an isolated incident and that "it is being repeated in the city".

Observing that women were not being treated with dignity, equality and respect, the bench said it was concerned about providing them an environment where they could live safely, with dignity.

"We are more concerned about a safe environment where women can work with honour and dignity and that must be restored," the bench said while issuing notices to the Centre, Delhi government and the National Commission for Women on a PIL by Nipun Saxena, a Delhi law student.

Seeking responses within two weeks, the bench also admitted a separate plea demanding a complete ban on two-finger test conducted on victims for ascertaining sexual assault. The petition questioned the validity of the test conducted on rape victims and contended it was against the dignity of women.

Terming it as "degrading," "inhuman" and "unscientific," the petition called for a ban on the finger test as a method for collecting medical evidence in rape cases.

It has argued that medical protocols need to be changed to move towards a therapeutic jurisprudence, which would extend care and empathy to the rape survivor rather than blame and stigma.

Saxena's PIL has asked for a slew of measures to make Delhi safer.

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