# Delhi High Court Orders Police to Survey Sanitary Pad Machines in All Stations Within Six Weeks

> The Delhi High Court has issued notice to Delhi Police, the Union Home Ministry and the Delhi government over a petition alleging a shortage of sanitary pad vending machines for women officers, and ordered the Police Commissioner to survey every station within six weeks.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Delhi · **Published:** 2026-08-05 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/delhi/mahila-pulisakarmiyon-ki-suvidhaon-para-delhi-high-court-sakhta-6-haphte-men-mangi-thanon-ki-puri-riporta-14081 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Delhi High Court, Sanitary Pad Vending Machine, Women Police Personnel, Delhi Police, Article 21, Justice For Rights Association

Women police personnel posted across Delhi's stations are struggling to get even a basic facility like a working sanitary pad vending machine, and the Delhi High Court has now stepped in, issuing notice to Delhi Police over the matter. The court acted on a petition alleging a persistent shortage of health and hygiene facilities for women officers on duty, treating the issue as serious enough to warrant a hearing.

## Six-week deadline for a citywide survey
Taking up the matter, the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to conduct a survey covering every police station in the capital. The survey must establish exactly how many sanitary pad vending machines are installed at each station and, crucially, how many of them are actually functional. The court has given the Commissioner six weeks to complete this exercise so that a real, station-by-station picture emerges of where the facility is missing altogether.

## Status report ordered, next hearing on September 23
The bench did not stop at ordering a survey. It has also directed the police administration to file a detailed status report spelling out the concrete steps that will be taken to provide these facilities at police stations. The matter will next come up for hearing on 23 September 2026, by which time the police administration's report is expected to be before the court.

## Petition invokes Article 21 of the Constitution
The petition was filed by an organisation called the Justice For Rights Association. It argued that providing such basic facilities to women police personnel at their stations is not a favour but a right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The petitioners said the issue goes beyond hygiene alone, touching directly on dignity, health, privacy and the right to humane conditions at the workplace.

## No separate toilets either, Centre and Delhi government also asked to respond
The petition further stated that women personnel posted across Delhi's police stations and units face an acute shortage of both menstrual hygiene facilities and separate toilets. Given the seriousness of the issue, the Delhi High Court issued notice not only to Delhi Police but also to the Union Home Ministry and the Delhi government, seeking their response.

The petition alleged that women police officers are made to perform continuous duty in tough conditions but are denied even basic facilities during their periods, calling this a direct violation of their right to health, dignity, privacy and a safe workplace. According to the petition, hundreds of police stations across Delhi have thousands of women officers on their rolls, yet sanitary pad vending machines are available at only a handful of locations, leaving a large number of women personnel without access.

## What this means for you
This order has a direct bearing on the day-to-day working conditions of women police personnel in Delhi.

- **Across India:** Since the court has tied the issue to Article 21 of the Constitution, this case could trigger a wider debate on basic hygiene facilities for women staff in police forces in other states too.
- **In Delhi:** If the court's directions are implemented after the survey and status report, thousands of women police personnel posted at Delhi stations could start getting access to sanitary pad vending machines and separate toilets in the coming months.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Who has the Delhi High Court issued notice to?
The Delhi High Court has issued notice to Delhi Police, the Union Home Ministry and the Delhi government seeking their response.

### 2. How long has the Police Commissioner been given to complete the survey?
The Delhi Police Commissioner has been given six weeks to complete a survey of sanitary pad vending machines at all police stations.

### 3. Who filed the petition?
The petition was filed by an organisation called the Justice For Rights Association.

### 4. Which constitutional provision does the petition rely on?
The petition invokes Article 21 of the Constitution, arguing that these facilities are part of women police personnel's right to dignity, health and privacy.

### 5. When is the next hearing in this case?
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 23 September 2026.

### 6. What other problems does the petition raise?
The petition states that police stations also lack separate toilets for women staff, and that sanitary pad vending machines are available at only a handful of stations.

---
_TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._