Submitting in a sealed cover the list of officers on duty on the route on which the 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gang-raped on December 16, the Delhi Police on Thursday tendered an unconditional apology to the Delhi High Court for holding back the names despite its direction for sharing them with it.
The Union government assured a Division Bench of Chief Justice Darmar Murugesan and Justice V.K. Jain that it had set up an Inquiry Commission headed by the former Delhi High Court Judge, Usha Mehra, to look into the lapses, if any, on the part of the police officers in preventing the commission of the crime against the student, and if found guilty, action would be taken against them.
Thereupon, the Bench asked the government to keep it posted of the progress of the probe by the Commission from time to time.
The police filed a fresh status report after it was pulled up by the court on Wednesday, when it had again refused to share the names of the police officers on duty that night.
Delhi Police counsel Dayan Krishnan said the names of these officers had been mentioned in the charge sheet as witnesses in the case. Upon this, the Bench questioned the need for holding them back from the court.
Later, accepting the apology, the court directed the police to remove tinted glasses and curtains from vehicles plying in the capital and the Union government, to increase the number of PCR vans to ensure more secure and safe environment in the city for women.
During the hearing, advocate Meira Bhatia drew the attention of the court on the need for providing the best medical treatment to rape victims in the capital. She said the All India Institute of Medical Sciences did not admit rape victims for treatment. Rape victims were asked to go to Safdarjung Hospital, across the road, Ms. Bhatia complained.
The Bench assured her that it would pass an order on it later.
It has been hearing the matter suo motu . It had taken note of it on December 19. The matter will now come up for hearing on January 31.
