A Mumbai-based advocate has urged the President of India to initiate a National Mission on Women’s Safety and Dignity, warning that persistent gaps in enforcement are causing a “constitutional injury” to guarantees under Articles 14, 15 and 21.
In a detailed representation, advocate Hitendra D. Gandhi described the crisis as a constitutional emergency, arguing that when women live in fear and reporting becomes risky, equality and liberty become conditional.
Mr. Gandhi wrote that the Constitution is not merely a book of procedures but a promise of equal citizenship.
“When reporting becomes risky, and process itself becomes punishment, the injury touches the Republic’s core,” he said, adding that dignity cannot remain negotiable in practice. The representation warns that systemic failures—delayed FIRs, weak evidence preservation, intimidation of witnesses and adjournments—turn procedure into punishment and erode public trust.
“Rights begin to feel like permissions when influence can slow first response, shape narratives or seek procedural softness at decisive stages,” it states.
