The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Union government, all States, and Union Territories on a petition seeking uniform nationwide guidelines to protect women advocates visiting police stations, especially during late evening and night hours, ensuring their safety, dignity, and protection.
The Supreme Court, issued notice to the Union government and all States and Union Territories on a petition seeking uniform, nationwide directions to safeguard women advocates visiting police stations especially during late evening and night hours so that their safety, dignity, and protection are ensured.
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta called for replies from the Centre and the States/Union Territories within four weeks.
The petition has been filed by Advocate Geeta Jain Aggarwal against the Union of India, the Bar Council of India, and all States and Union Territories.
Through the plea, the petitioner urged the top court to establish a single national policy along with standard operating procedures that would govern how police officials interact with women advocates when they are inside police stations.
The petition also requests specific safeguards, including CCTV surveillance with audio recording, digital systems for entry, emergency panic-alert mechanisms, dedicated rooms for interaction, and an independent complaint redressal mechanism to address allegations of police misconduct.
Stressing that there is no legal framework designed specifically to protect women lawyers inside police stations, the petition state,
“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 plea further argues that police stations are under exclusive State control and therefore require the authorities to meet a higher constitutional responsibility to ensure dignity and safety.
It says,
“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.”
According to the petition, the lack of accountability and gender-sensitive safeguards has led to what it describes as a serious institutional deficiency, which undermines women advocates’ ability to perform their professional duties without fear.
The plea states,
“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,”
The petitioner contends that these circumstances violate constitutional guarantees under Articles 14, 19(1)(g), and 21.
The petition relies on alleged incidents of assault and harassment of women advocates inside police stations across the country. One incident mentioned involves a woman advocate in Karnataka who, it is alleged, was physically assaulted by a police officer inside a police station on February 23, 2025.
The plea notes that the Karnataka High Court subsequently ordered the registration of an FIR against the officer concerned.
Another incident cited in the petition concerns an Executive Member of the Tis Hazari Bar Association, who is alleged to have been assaulted by female police personnel, sexually assaulted by male police personnel, and unlawfully detained at Sector 50 Police Station in Gurugram while assisting a client in May 2025.
The plea also refers to a case at Sector 126 Police Station in Noida in December 2025, where a woman advocate is alleged to have faced harassment, assault, and detention while representing a client in connection with an FIR.
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Drawing parallels with the landmark decision in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, the petition argues that there is a legislative gap regarding the safety of women advocates in police stations, and that this warrants judicial intervention.
It also points out that while criminal law limits the arrest of women during night hours, there are no equivalent safeguards regulating police conduct towards women advocates who enter police stations in a professional capacity.
Among the measures proposed are: mandatory presence of a woman police officer during late-night interactions, preservation of CCTV footage, appointment of nodal officers for advocate safety, and periodic gender-sensitisation programmes for police personnel.
The court will now hear the matter after four weeks.
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