Delhi High Court Rules Police Must Treat Women With Dignity and Respect: No Need for Additional Guidelines

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has emphasized that police officers must treat women with respect and dignity, avoiding any use of inappropriate or unparliamentary language during interactions.

This observation came during proceedings on a petition filed by a woman seeking formal guidelines to ensure respectful treatment of women at police stations and prohibit the use of unparliamentary language by officers when dealing with female citizens.

Justice Sanjeev Narula stated in his ruling, "The court finds no reason to frame any such guidelines. It is beyond dispute that police officials are expected to treat women with dignity and must refrain from using inappropriate or unparliamentary language. Hence, the prayer sought is misconceived."

The petitioner, identified as Thoppani Sanjeev Rao, had requested an investigation into her complaint that had been registered as a case by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

She argued that despite the NHRC directing police authorities to take necessary action within a four-week timeframe, no steps had been taken to address her concerns.

In the October 14 order, the court noted that regarding matters related to the NHRC, the petitioner was informed that in cases of non-compliance with previous directives, the commission maintains suo motu powers to investigate such matters.

"For this purpose, it is open to the petitioner to invoke the jurisdiction of the commission by filing an appropriate representation/application seeking necessary directions," the court clarified.