New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance (self-initiated proceedings by the court) of a series of recent rape and sexual assault incidents in Delhi-NCR, questioning the failure of law-enforcement and civil authorities to prevent such crimes and asking whether systemic mechanisms have made any meaningful progress since the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The Court, however, made clear that its proceedings are not about determining the guilt of individual accused persons. Its focus is on whether the State and its institutions have put in place effective preventive, monitoring and response mechanisms to keep women and children safe in public spaces.

"We remain mindful that specific allegations of crime must be invest...