Chairperson, member posts in DCW can’t remain vacant: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said the Delhi government cannot have any reason whatsoever to not fill up the vacant posts of chairperson and members in the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) or 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 steps taken by it to fill the vacancies and ensure that the commission does not close.

“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 up the vacancies in the office of the chairperson and members and for not providing adequate staff to DCW,” the court observed.

“Let instructions be sought by the Delhi government counsel as to what steps have been taken by the authorities to fill up the vacant posts and ensure that the commission does not close down. List next Wednesday,” it ordered.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation by Buxar MP Sudhakar Singh to fill up the vacant post of chairperson and members of the DCW within a time-bound period.

The petitioner’s lawyer, advocate Satayam Singh, said the DCW was “closed” since January 24 as there were no members or staff.

The Delhi government counsel said he has to verify the claim made in the PIL.

The petitioner contended that it was an irony that in spite of a woman chief minister, the commission, which works towards welfare and safety of women, was non-functional even in the face of data on crime against women.

“The paralysis of the DCW has led to disruption and non-functioning of its statutory programmes and mechanisms, including the Sahyogini Family Counselling Unit, Helpdesk, Rape Crisis Cell, Crisis Intervention Centres, Mobile Helpline, Mahila Panchayat programme and Women Helpline 181, resulting in a cascading failure of the protective framework envisaged for women in distress,” said the petition.

“The urgency of the present Petition is underscored by official crime data. As per 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 rape cases. 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 non-functioning of DCW was in violation of Articles 14, 15(3) and 21 of the Constitution as it defeats the special measures adopted for protection of women and denies them an effective, accessible and specialised grievance redressal mechanism essential to life with dignity and safety.