Director Richie Mehta conceived the idea for Delhi Crime during a conversation with Neeraj Kumar, the former Commissioner of the Delhi Police, who introduced him to the investigating team and gave him access to legal documents from the case.

Mehta was initially asked by Kumar to make a feature film on the case but declined; after reading the case documents he was amazed by the precision and speed with which the investigation was solved.

Mehta was influenced by films like The French Connection (1971) and Zodiac (2007) in shaping his approach to the series.

It took Mehta six years to complete his research, with the writing process alone taking more than four years, partly because he had to travel back and forth to Canada to compile his findings.

Mehta originally wanted to make the project as a feature film but realized during his research that the material could not fit into that format.

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra worked with Mehta to cast mostly theatre-background actors rather than recognizable Bollywood stars, which allowed for more creative casting choices.

Shefali Shah, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain and Rasika Dugal had all previously worked with Mehta on his first feature film, Amal (2007).

The character of Vartika Chaturvedi was based on Chhaya Sharma, the real former deputy commissioner of Delhi police who led the investigation; Mehta spoke with her for months to capture her perspective, and Shefali Shah agreed to the role after just a five-minute narration from Mehta.

Rajesh Tailang's character was an amalgamation of several real investigating officers, though he based his performance on one specific police officer he spoke with.

Filming for the first season took place in Delhi in January 2018 and was completed within 62 days, covering the six-day period between 16 and 21 December 2012 from the incident to the final arrest.

Shooting took place mostly on real Delhi streets without any sets, and was largely done without formal police permissions, as Neeraj Kumar advised producers not to involve his successors who might not support the project.

Director Richie Mehta chose not to depict the rape on screen, wanting to avoid crossing into exploitation.

The crew deliberately used handheld cameras to make the experience more immersive and cathartic, so the audience would feel part of the unfolding events.

Before filming, Neeraj Kumar personally briefed the entire cast, including Shefali Shah, on police hierarchy, rank structure, and body language to ensure an authentic depiction; he avoided visiting the set (except for one scene at India Gate) to prevent rumors that the show was being made to glorify him.

Delhi Crime's first two episodes premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in the Indie Episodic category before its Netflix release on 22 March 2019.

At the International Emmy Awards in November 2020, Delhi Crime became the first Indian series to win the award for Best Drama Series.

Shefali Shah received an International Emmy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in the second season.