Lok Sabha Question No. 5256 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-05
Subject: Fast Track Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: ASADUDDIN OWAISI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)

## L O K    S A B H A

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5256

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 5TH APRIL, 2017

## Fast Track Courts

## 5256. SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI

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

- (a) whether  in  order  to  expedite  the  justice  delivery  system  in cases of heinous crimes against women, children and elderly the Government has earmarked fund of Rs.4100 crore to set up 1800 fast track courts across the country;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the target date fixed by the Government for utilization of funds to establish fast track courts in States;
- (d) whether  earlier  allocation  made  for  this  purpose  has  been utilized  by  States  and  the  number  of  fast  track  courts  so  far functioning  at  present  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (e) whether  this  step  of  the  Government  has  been  taken  on  the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission; and
- (f) if so, the steps taken by the Government to persuade States to utilize the funds within timeframe?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

- (a):      Setting  up  of  the  Subordinate  Courts  including  Fast  Track Courts  (FTCs)  lies  within  the  domain  of  the  State  Governments which  in  consultation  with  the  High  Courts  set  up  such  courts with  their  own  resources.  However,  in  order  to  expedite  the justice  delivery  system  for  speedy  disposal  of  cases  of  heinous crimes  against  women,  children  and  elderly,  the  Government submitted a proposal as a component of its Memorandum to the 14th   Finance  Commission  for  setting  up  of  1800  FTCs  with  an allocation of Rs. 4144 crores which has ben endorsed in totality by the finance Commission.

(b):   The details thereof are given as Annexure-I.

(c) :The target date fixed by the Government for utilization of funds to establish fast track courts in States is 2015-20, i.e. the period of the 14th  Finance Commission.

(d) : The number of functional fast track courts as on December 31, 2016 in the country is 524 and the State-wise breakup is given as Annexure-II.

(e) & (f): The 14th Finance Commission noted that the proposal of the Government was arrived at after an extensive consultation process with the States and merited favorable consideration. Consequently, the  14 th   FC  endorsed  the  proposal  to  incur  expenditure  of  Rs.4144 crore on 1800 FTCs for a period of five years (2015-20) and urged the State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided by the Commission  in  the  tax  devolution  from  32%  to  42%  to  meet  such requirements.

The Hon'ble Prime Minister vide his letter dated 23 rd  April, 2015  has  urged  the  State  Governments  to  allocate  funds  for  the activities mentioned in the 14th  FC recommendations from their State budget from 2015-16 onwards. This issue was also discussed in the CM/CJ Conference on 05th April, 2015 and 24th April, 2016 wherein it was resolved to strengthen the existing coordination and monitoring mechanism  between  the  State  Government  and  the  Judiciary  for effective implementation of the recommendations of the 14th FC. The Minister of Law and Justice has further urged all the Chief Ministers of  the  States  and  Chief  Justices  of  High  Courts  to  implement  the resolution of the Conference vide letters dated 03rd June, 2015 and 26th  September, 2016.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) and (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5256 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05 TH  APRIL, 2017

Funds earmarked for establishment of 1800 Fast Track Courts for a period of five years (20152020)  as endorsed by the 14 th Finance Commission.

(Rs. in crore)

| S.No   | Name of the State            |   Funds earmarked/released |
|--------|------------------------------|----------------------------|
| 1.     | Andhra Pradesh               |                     108.21 |
| 2.     | Telangana                    |                      85.18 |
| 3.     | Assam                        |                      82.88 |
| 4.     | Arunachal Pradesh            |                       0    |
| 5.     | Mizoram                      |                      16.12 |
| 6.     | Nagaland                     |                       6.91 |
| 7.     | Bihar                        |                     338.43 |
| 8.     | Chhattisgarh                 |                      64.46 |
| 9.     | Gujarat                      |                     400.59 |
| 10.    | Himachal Pradesh             |                      29.93 |
| 11.    | Jammu &Kashmir               |                      48.35 |
| 12.    | Jharkhand                    |                     115.11 |
| 13.    | Karnataka                    |                     218.72 |
| 14.    | Kerala, Lakshadweep          |                      94.39 |
| 15.    | Madhya Pradesh               |                     306.2  |
| 16.    | Maharashtra, D&N, Daman &Diu |                     469.67 |
| 17.    | Goa                          |                      11.51 |
| 18.    | Manipur                      |                       6.91 |
| 19.    | Meghalaya                    |                       9.21 |
| 20.    | Orissa                       |                     145.04 |
| 21.    | Punjab                       |                     115.11 |
| 22.    | Chandigarh                   |                       4.61 |
| 22.    | Haryana                      |                     110.51 |
| 23.    | Rajasthan                    |                     214.11 |
| 24.    | Sikkim                       |                       2.3  |
| 25.    | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry       |                     204.91 |
| 26.    | Tripura                      |                      20.72 |
| 27.    | Uttar Pradesh                |                     488.08 |
| 28.    | Uttarakhand                  |                      64.46 |
| 29.    | West Bengal, A&N Islands     |                     216.42 |
| 30.    | Delhi                        |                     145.05 |
| Total  | Total                        |                    4144.11 |

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  to  (d)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5256 TO BE REPLIED ON 05 TH  APRIL, 2017 REGARDING FAST TRACK COURTS.

| S. No   | State             | No. of FTC functional   |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    | 38                      |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh | -                       |
| 3       | Assam             | 3                       |
| 4       | Bihar             | 0                       |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      | 14                      |
| 6       | Delhi             | 13                      |
| 7       | Goa               | 5                       |
| 8       | Gujarat           | 0                       |
| 9       | Haryana           | 0                       |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh  | 0                       |
| 11      | Jammu & Kashmir   | -                       |
| 12      | Jharkhand         | 12                      |
| 13      | Karnataka         | 0                       |
| 14      | Kerala            | 0                       |
| 15      | Madhya Pradesh    | 0                       |
| 16      | Maharashtra       | 100                     |
| 17      | Manipur           | -                       |
| 18      | Meghalaya         | 0                       |
| 19      | Mizoram           | -                       |
| 20      | Nagaland          | -                       |
| 21      | Odisha            | 0                       |
| 22      | Punjab            | 0                       |
| 23      | Puducherry        | -                       |
| 24      | Rajasthan         | 0                       |
| 25      | Sikkim            | 1                       |
| 26      | Tamil Nadu        | 39                      |
| 27      | Telangana         | 34                      |
| 28      | Tripura           | 1                       |
| 29      | Uttar Pradesh     | 183                     |
| 30      | Uttarakhand       | 4                       |
| 31      | West Bengal       | 77                      |
|         | Total             | 52 4                    |