Supreme Court Issues Notice To Union & States On Plea Seeking Safety Guidelines For Women Advocates Visiting Police Stations

A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking the formulation and implementation of uniform guidelines across the country to ensure the safety, dignity and protection of women advocates while visiting police stations, particularly during late evening and night hours.“The Advocates, as officers of the Court, are.an integral part of the justice delivery system and are frequently required to visit police stations to represent and assist their clients. However, in the absence of a specific legal framework governing their safety within such State-controlled environments, women advocates are increasingly exposed to risks of harassment, intimidation and abuse”, the petition states.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta today issued notice to the Union and all States on the plea returnable in 4 weeks.The plea states, “Police stations, being spaces under exclusive-State control and possessing coercive authority, impose a heightened duty upon the State to ensure that no individual, particularly a woman professional is subjected to harassment, abuse, or indignity. The absence of accountability mechanisms, gender sensitive ' protocols, and enforceable safeguards reflects a serious institutional deficiency.”The petition has been filed by advocate Geeta Jain Aggarwal. It impleads the Union of India, the Bar Council of India, and all States and Union Territories. The petitioner has sought directions for framing a uniform policy and standard operating procedures governing interactions between police officials and women advocates inside police stations. The petition highlights that women advocates are frequently required to visit police stations to represent and assist clients, but there is no specific legal framework governing their safety in such State-controlled environments. The plea contends that this exposes women advocates to risks of harassment, intimidation and abuse, especially during late-night visits, and creates a chilling effect on their ability to discharge professional duties. It argues that the absence of safeguards violates the rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. “The absence of safeguards creates a chilling effect on the ability of women advocates to discharge their professional duties, effectively deterring them from entering police stations, especially during odd hours. Such a situation directly impairs their right to practice the legal profession”, the plea states.The petition highlights recent incidents involving women advocates. One incident cited in the petition concerns a woman advocate in Karnataka who allegedly faced physical assault by a police officer inside a police station on February 23, 2025. The Karnataka High Court subsequently directed registration of an FIR against the police officer. Another incident cited relates to a woman advocate and Executive Member of the Tis Hazari Bar Association who allegedly faced physical assault by female police personnel, sexual assault by male police personnel and unlawful detention at Sector 50 Police Station in Gurugram on May 21, 2025 while assisting a client. The petition also refers to an incident at Sector 126 Police Station, Noida, on December 3, 2025, where a woman advocate allegedly faced harassment, assault and detention while representing a client in connection with an FIR.Drawing a parallel with the Supreme Court's decision in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, the petition argues that a legislative vacuum exists regarding the safety of women advocates within police stations and that judicial intervention is necessary to frame enforceable safeguards. “although criminal law provides, a limited safeguard by restricting the arrest of women during nigh hours, such protection is confined only to the act of arrest and does not extend to regulation the conduct of police officials or ensuring the safety of women advocates who are required to enter police stations in discharge of their professional duties. Consequently, women advocates remain exposed to risks of harassment, intimidation, and abuse within police stations, especially during odd hours, thereby revealing a significant legal vacuum”, the petition argues.Among the directions sought are the creation of a uniform national policy for the protection of women advocates in police stations, formulation of standard operating procedures for interactions with police officials, establishment of an independent and time-bound complaint redressal mechanism for complaints against police misconduct, and implementation of digital entry and monitoring systems to record visits of advocates to police stations. The petition also proposes several safeguards, including mandatory CCTV coverage with audio recording of interactions involving women advocates, preservation of CCTV footage, compulsory presence of a woman police officer during late-night interactions, and designation of responsible officers to supervise such interactions, separate interaction...

Supreme Court Issues Notice To Union & States On Plea Seeking Safety Guidelines For Women Advocates Visiting Police Stations

Amisha Shrivastava

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Amisha Shrivastava

Supreme Court Issues Notice To Union & States On Plea Seeking Safety Guidelines For Women Advocates Visiting Police Stations

Amisha Shrivastava

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Amisha Shrivastava

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