Lok Sabha Question No. 220 (STARRED), answered on 2018-08-01
Subject: Number of Courts/POCSO Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI, RANGASWAMY DHRUVANARAYANA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. †*220.

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 01 ST  AUGUST, 2018.

Number of Courts / POCSO Courts

## †*220. SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARSWATI: SHRI R. DHRUVA NARAYANA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the number of courts in the country are adequate at present and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor, State-wise;
- (b) the details of the steps being taken by the Government in this direction;
- (c)  whether  there  is  any  provision  to  set  up  one  Protection  of  Children  from Sexual  Offences  (POCSO)  court  for  every  50  cases  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) the number of POCSO courts functioning in the country at present, State and
- district-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) of LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  †*220FOR  ANSWER  ON  01 st August, 2018.

(a) to (d) : A Supreme Court of India, 24 High Courts and 13 Benches of High  Courts  have  been  established  in  accordance  with  the  constitutional provisions. Under Article 235 of the Constitution of India, the control over District and Subordinate Courts in the States vests with the concerned High Court.    As  per  information  available  in  the  National  Judicial  Data  Grid (NJDG), details of the number of courts, State-wise / UT-wise, in District and Subordinate judiciary as on 31.03.2018, is given in Annexure - I.

In the Supreme Court of India, as against the sanctioned strength of 31  Judges,  working  strength  is  22  as  on  date.    The  Government,  in conjunction  with  the  CJI,  appoints  Judges  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and during the period May 2014 - July 2018, 18 Judges were appointed in the Supreme  Court.  In  addition,  the  sanctioned  strength  of  Judges  of  High Courts was increased from 906 (in May, 2014) to 1079 (as on date).  As against  the  sanctioned  strength  of  1079  Judges  in  High  Courts,  working strength is 660 as on date.  Appointment of Judges in High Courts is an ongoing process. Details of number of judges appointed during the last three years, year and court-wise in the Supreme Court and High Courts are given in Annexure II .

Steps  have  also  been  taken  to  increase  the  sanctioned  strength  of Judicial Officers in District and  Subordinate  Courts. The  sanctioned strength of Judicial Officers was increased from 19,518 as on 31.12.2013 to  22,545 as on 31.03.2018 and the working strength has also increased from  15,115  as  on  31.12.2013  to  17,109  as  on  31.03.2018.  As  per information made available by various High Courts, details of sanctioned / working strength of judicial officers in District and Subordinate judiciary as on 31.03.2018 are given in Annexure - III.

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary, implemented by Union Government in association with States / UT governments since 1993-94, funds have been allocated for development of court halls and residential units in district and subordinate judiciary.  As on date, Rs. 6,302 crore has been released by the Union Government since the inception of the Scheme. The number of available  court  halls  for  district  and  subordinate  judiciary  is  18,444,  and number  of  residential  units  for  judicial  officers  is  15,853  as  on  date.    In under construction,  in  various  States  /  UTs.    The  Central  Government  has 01.04.2017  to 31.03.2020 with an estimated additional outlay of Rs.3,320 crores.  Under the Scheme, the fund sharing pattern between Centre and State is 60:40 respectively  in  respect  of  States  other  than  North-East  and  Himalayan States; 90:10  in respect of North East and Himalayan States. In respect of addition, 2,709 court halls and 1,472 residential units are approved  continuation of this Scheme  for  the  period Union Territories, 100% funding is done by Centre. Section 28 of the POCSO Act, 2012 states that, for the purposes of providing  a  speedy  trial,  the  State  Government  shall,  in  consultation  with the Chief Justice of the relevant High Court, designate for each district, a Court  of  Session  to  be  a  Special  Court  to  try  the  offences  under  the POCSO Act. National  Commission  for  Protection  of  Child  Rights  (NCPCR)  is mandated to monitor the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual  Offences  (POCSO)  Act,  2012.    As  per  information  received  from NCPCR, as on date, there are 620 Special Courts designated under the POCSO  Act  in  the  country.    State  /  UT-wise  details  (as  provided  by

NCPCR) is given in Annexure - IV .

************

## Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  220  dated 01.08.2018

## Total Number of Court Halls as on 31.03.2018

| Sr. No.   | Name of the State / UT   |   Total Number Court Halls | of   |
|-----------|--------------------------|----------------------------|------|
| 1         | A & N Islands            |                         16 |      |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh           |                        636 |      |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh        |                         24 |      |
| 4         | Assam                    |                        344 |      |
| 5         | Bihar                    |                       1340 |      |
| 6         | Chandigarh               |                         31 |      |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh             |                        373 |      |
| 8         | Delhi                    |                        482 |      |
| 9         | Daman & Diu              |                          7 |      |
| 10        | Dadar & Nagar Haveli     |                          3 |      |
| 11        | Goa                      |                         60 |      |
| 12        | Gujarat                  |                       1444 |      |
| 13        | Haryana                  |                        519 |      |
| 14        | Himachal Pradesh         |                        151 |      |
| 15        | Jammu & Kashmir          |                        202 |      |
| 16        | Jharkhand                |                        604 |      |
| 17        | Karnataka                |                        992 |      |
| 18        | Kerala                   |                        492 |      |
| 19        | Lakshadweep              |                          3 |      |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh           |                       1395 |      |
| 21        | Maharashtra              |                       2191 |      |
| 22        | Manipur                  |                         37 |      |
| 23        | Meghalaya                |                         38 |      |
| 24        | Mizoram                  |                         34 |      |
| 25        | Nagaland                 |                         37 |      |
| 26        | Odisha                   |                        536 |      |
| 27        | Puducherry               |                         20 |      |
| 28        | Punjab                   |                        558 |      |
| 29        | Rajasthan                |                        994 |      |
| 30        | Sikkim                   |                         15 |      |
| 31        | Tamilnadu                |                       1035 |      |
| 32        | Tripura                  |                         68 |      |
| 33        | Telangana                |                        439 |      |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh            |                       2192 |      |
| 35        | Uttarakhand              |                        223 |      |
| 36        | West Bengal              |                        909 |      |
| Total     | Total                    |                      18444 |      |

- *****************

## Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  220  dated 01.08.2018

## Details  of  number  of  judges  appointed  during  the  last  three  years, year and court-wise in the Supreme Court and High Courts

## A. Supreme Court:

|   Fresh made 01.01.2016 31.12.2016 | appointment during to   |   Fresh made 01.01.2017 31.12.2017 | appointment during to   |   Fresh made 01.01.2018 23.07.2018 | appointment during to   |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|
|                                 04 |                         |                                 05 |                         |                                 01 |                         |

## B. High Courts:

|   Sl. No. | Name of the High Court     |   Fresh appointment made during 1.1.2016 to 31.12.2016 | Fresh appointment made during 1.1.2017 to 31.12.2017   | Fresh appointment made during 1.1.2018 to 23.07.2018   |
|-----------|----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Allahabad                  |                                                     20 | 31                                                     | --                                                     |
|         2 | Telangana & Andhra Pradesh |                                                     01 | 10                                                     | --                                                     |
|         3 | Bombay                     |                                                     06 | 14                                                     | --                                                     |
|         4 | Calcutta                   |                                                     01 | 06                                                     | 07                                                     |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh               |                                                     03 | 03                                                     | 04                                                     |
|         6 | Delhi                      |                                                     05 | 04                                                     | --                                                     |
|         7 | Gauhati                    |                                                     05 | 02                                                     | --                                                     |
|         8 | Gujarat                    |                                                     05 | --                                                     | --                                                     |
|         9 | Himachal                   |                                                     04 | --                                                     | --                                                     |

|    | Pradesh         |     |     |    |
|----|-----------------|-----|-----|----|
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir | --  | 03  | -- |
| 11 | Jharkhand       | 04  | 02  | 03 |
| 12 | Karnataka       | 05  | 02  | 07 |
| 13 | Kerala          | 05  | 03  | -- |
| 14 | Madhya Pradesh  | 18  | --  | 05 |
| 15 | Madras          | 25  | 12  | 07 |
| 16 | Manipur         | 01  | --  | -- |
| 17 | Meghalaya       | --  | --  | -- |
| 18 | Orissa          | --  | --  | -- |
| 19 | Patna           | 06  | 06  | -- |
| 20 | Punjab& Haryana | 01  | 08  | -- |
| 21 | Rajasthan       | 11  | 05  | -- |
| 22 | Sikkim          | --  | 01  | -- |
| 23 | Tripura         | --  | --  | 01 |
| 24 | Uttarakhand     | --  | 03  | -- |
|    | Total           | 126 | 115 | 34 |

*************

Annexure - III

## Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  220  dated 01.08.2018

| Statement showing details of Sanctioned / Working Strength of Judicial Officers in Subordinate Judiciary as on 31.03.2018   | Statement showing details of Sanctioned / Working Strength of Judicial Officers in Subordinate Judiciary as on 31.03.2018   | Statement showing details of Sanctioned / Working Strength of Judicial Officers in Subordinate Judiciary as on 31.03.2018   | Statement showing details of Sanctioned / Working Strength of Judicial Officers in Subordinate Judiciary as on 31.03.2018   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No.                                                                                                                     | Name of State / UT                                                                                                          | Sanctioned Strength                                                                                                         | Working Strength                                                                                                            |

| 1   | Andhra Pradesh and Telangana            |   987 |   912 |
|-----|-----------------------------------------|-------|-------|
| 2   | Arunachal Pradesh                       |    28 |    17 |
| 3   | Assam                                   |   430 |   350 |
| 4   | Bihar                                   |  1837 |  1153 |
| 5   | Chandigarh                              |    30 |    30 |
| 6   | Chhattisgarh                            |   399 |   376 |
| 7   | Dadra & Nagar Haveili and Daman and Diu |     7 |     6 |
| 8   | Delhi                                   |   799 |   518 |
| 9   | Goa                                     |    55 |    44 |
| 10  | Gujarat                                 |  1496 |  1116 |
| 11  | Haryana                                 |   645 |   496 |
| 12  | Himachal Pradesh                        |   159 |   148 |
| 13  | Jammu & Kashmir                         |   261 |   224 |
| 14  | Jharkhand                               |   672 |   462 |
| 15  | Karnataka                               |  1303 |  1061 |
| 16  | Kerala                                  |   536 |   479 |
| 17  | Lakshadweep                             |     3 |     2 |
| 18  | Madhya Pradesh                          |  2021 |  1315 |
| 19  | Maharashtra                             |  2097 |  1914 |
| 20  | Manipur                                 |    50 |    39 |
| 21  | Meghalaya                               |    97 |    39 |
| 22  | Mizoram                                 |    67 |    46 |
| 23  | Nagaland                                |    33 |    21 |
| 24  | Orissa                                  |   862 |   649 |
| 25  | Puducherry                              |    26 |    12 |
| 26  | Punjab                                  |   674 |   538 |
| 27  | Rajasthan                               |  1237 |  1121 |
| 28  | Sikkim                                  |    23 |    19 |
| 29  | Tamilnadu                               |  1121 |   913 |
| 30  | Tripura                                 |   107 |    75 |
| 31  | Uttar Pradesh                           |  3224 |  1864 |
| 32  | Uttarakhand                             |   292 |   231 |
| 33  | West Bengal & A & N Islands             |   967 |   919 |
|     | Total                                   | 22545 | 17109 |

Statement  referred  to  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  220  dated

01.08.2018

## Special Courts designated under POCSO Act, 2012 in the States/UTs

| Sr. No.   | Name of States       |   Number of Districts |   No. of Special Courts designated |
|-----------|----------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh       |                    13 |                                 13 |
| 2         | Assam                |                    27 |                                 24 |
| 3         | A & N Islands        |                     3 |                                  1 |
| 4         | Arunachal Pradesh    |                    20 |                                  5 |
| 5         | Bihar                |                    38 |                                 38 |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh         |                    27 |                                 51 |
| 7         | Chandigarh UT        |                     1 |                                  1 |
| 8         | Delhi                |                    13 |                                 13 |
| 9         | Daman & Diu          |                     2 |                                  2 |
| 10        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli |                     1 |                                  1 |
| 11        | Goa                  |                     2 |                                  1 |
| 12        | Gujarat              |                    33 |                                 21 |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh     |                    12 |                                 11 |
| 14        | Haryana              |                    22 |                                 21 |
| 15        | Jharkhand            |                    24 |                                 24 |
| 16        | Kerala               |                    14 |                                 14 |
| 17        | Karnataka            |                    30 |                                 30 |
| 18        | Lakshadweep          |                     1 |                                  1 |
| 19        | Manipur              |                     9 |                                  7 |
| 20        | Mizoram              |                     8 |                                  2 |
| 21        | Madhya Pradesh       |                    51 |                                 51 |
| 22        | Meghalaya            |                    11 |                                  6 |
| 23        | Maharashtra          |                    36 |                                 36 |
| 24        | Nagaland             |                    11 |                                 11 |
| 25        | Odisha               |                    30 |                                 30 |
| 26        | Punjab               |                    22 |                                 22 |
| 27        | Pondicherry          |                     2 |                                  2 |
| 28        | Rajasthan            |                    35 |                                 35 |
| 29        | Sikkim               |                     4 |                                  4 |
| 30        | Tamil Nadu           |                    32 |                                 32 |
| 31        | Telangana            |                    31 |                                 10 |
| 32        | Tripura              |                     8 |                                  8 |
| 33        | Uttar Pradesh        |                    75 |                                 56 |
| 34        | Uttrakhand           |                    13 |                                 13 |
| 35        | West Bengal          |                    23 |                                 23 |
| Total     | Total                |                   681 |                                620 |