Delhi High Court Directs DCP Legal To Convene Meeting Regarding SOP On Security Measures During College Fests

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Delhi Police’s DCP (Legal) to convene a meeting to put in place the standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding the security measures to be followed during college fests that are organised by colleges or Universities in the national capital.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna said that the representatives of IIT Delhi, Delhi Universities and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University shall also be called in the meeting.

The bench was dealing with a suo motu PIL initiated last month regarding an incident wherein various women students of Delhi University’s Bharati College were “secretly filmed” in the washroom while they were changing costumes during the “Rendezvous” fest organized by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

The court granted two weeks’ time to the counsel appearing for the Delhi University to place on record the advisories issued by the varsity qua security measures during college festivals.

“In the meanwhile, the DCP (Legal) is directed to convene a meeting. The representatives of IIT Delhi, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Delhi University shall be called. In this meeting, the standard operating procedure (SOP) shall be put in place regarding the security measures [to be followed] during the college fests organized by the universities,” the court ordered.

The matter will now be heard on January 22.

The court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue of “security breaches” particularly in respect of female attendees at various fests organized by colleges or universities in the Delhi-NCR region.

It took note of a newspaper article published in the Indian Express on October 09 titled “Harassment at college fests leaves students anguished, shaken.”

The incident of secret filming happened on October 06. From the CCTV footage, the individual responsible was identified to be a part of IIT Delhi’s housekeeping staff.

Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION v. GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI AND ORS.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1110