New Delhi, February 18 The Delhi High Court said on Wednesday that the Delhi government has no reason whatsoever to not fill the vacant positions of chairperson and members in the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) or to not provide adequate staff there.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia asked the Delhi government's counsel to seek instructions on the steps taken by it to fill the vacancies and ensure that the commission remains functional.
"The commission performs certain important functions for the welfare of women. In view of the functions assigned to the commission under section 10 of The Delhi Commission for Women Act, 1994, there cannot be any reason whatsoever for not filling the vacancies in the office of the chairperson and members and for not providing adequate staff to DCW," the court observed.
"The Delhi government's counsel should seek instructions as to what steps have been taken by the authorities to fill the vacant posts and ensure that the commission does not shut down. The matter will be listed for next Wednesday," it ordered.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation by Buxar MP Sudhakar Singh to fill the vacant post of chairperson and members of the DCW within a time-bound period.
The petitioner's lawyer, advocate Satyam Singh, said that the DCW had been "closed" since January 24 as there were no members or staff.
The Delhi government's counsel said he had to verify the claim made in the PIL.
The petitioner contended that it was ironic that despite a female chief minister, the commission, which works towards the welfare and safety of women, was non-functional even in the face of data on crimes against women.
"The paralysis of the DCW has led to disruption and non-functioning of its statutory programs and mechanisms, including the Sahyogini Family Counselling Unit, Helpdesk, Rape Crisis Cell, Crisis Intervention Centres, Mobile Helpline, Mahila Panchayat program and Women Helpline 181, resulting in a cascading failure of the protective framework envisaged for women in distress," the petition said.
"The urgency of the present petition is underscored by official crime data. According to the Crime in India 2023 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, released in September 2025, Delhi recorded over 13,000 crimes against women in 2023, the highest among metropolitan cities, including more than 1,000 cases of rape. In a city facing such levels of gender-based violence, the continued paralysis of the statutory body specifically created to protect women aggravates vulnerability and results in denial of access to justice," it added.
The petition said that the non-functioning of the DCW was a violation of Articles 14, 15(3) and 21 of the Constitution as it defeats the special measures adopted for the protection of women and denies them an effective, accessible and specialized grievance redressal mechanism essential to life with dignity and safety.