Lok Sabha Question No. 258 (STARRED), answered on 2020-03-11
Subject: Engagement of Consultants
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Gautham Sigamani Pon, Dhanush M Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

******

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. *258

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 11 th  March, 2020

## Engagement of Consultants

## *258.        SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON: SHRI DHANUSH M. KUMAR:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  engage  Senior  Consultants  and Consultants on contractual basis for the scheme relating to setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts for speedy disposal of rape and POCSO cases and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  criteria  fixed  by  the  Government  for  appointment  as  Consultants and their nature of duties;
- (c) the number of candidates shortlisted and appointed so far;
- (d) the period for which  they will be engaged  and  the amount  of remuneration proposed to be paid to them;
- (e) whether the Union Government has requested all the State Governments to open  Fast Track Special Courts for speedy disposal of rape and POCSO cases and if so, number of States that have set up such Fast Track Courts; and
- (f) the  other  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  speedy  disposal  of  rape cases pending in various courts in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS  &  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (f):  A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN  REPLY TO PARTS (a)  TO (f) OF  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 258  FOR 11 TH  MARCH, 2020.

(a)to(d): The  Government  proposes  to  engage  two  number  of  Professional Consultants for monitoring the scheme for setting up of  1023  Fast Track  Special Courts (FTSC) across the country. These Consultants should be Law Graduates, having good analytical and communications skills with 5-8 years experience in the legal  field  for  the  position  of  Sr.  Consultant,  and  3-5  years  experience  for  the position of Consultant.  The proposed remuneration per month is in the range of Rs.1,  00,000  -  1,  25,000  for  Sr.  Consultant  and  Rs.  80,000-1,  00,000  for  the position  of  Consultant.    The  term  of  Consultants  will  be  co-terminus  with  the scheme of  FTSC.    The  advertisement  for  these  positions  was  published  through DAVP in newspapers  on  13.02.2020  followed  by  uploading  on    the  website  of Department  of  Justice.  Applications  were  to  be  received  online  upto  5 th March 2020.  After following all laid down codal formalities, these two consultants would be  engaged.

For    proper  planning,  coordination  and  monitoring  of  the  above  scheme, these  two  Consultants  would  undertake  regular  activities    for  obtaining  data  in prescribed  formats  from  concerned  High  Courts,  compile,  analyze  and  evaluate them besides making various reports and appraisals  recommending  areas needing interventions; conduct inspections; organizing training and outreach campaign etc.

(e ):  The  proposal  of  Union  of  India  for  setting  up  of  1800  Fast  Track  Courts (FTCs)  during  2015-2020  for  dealing  specific  natured  cases  of  heinous  nature, women,  children,  senior  citizens,  other  vulnerable  sections  of  society  and  civil cases pending for 5 years had been endorsed by the 14 th Finance Commission. The Commission  had  urged  State  Governments  to  utilize  enhanced  fiscal  space available through tax devolution (32% to 42%) for the above. Union Government

has also asked states to set up requisite number of FTCs. There are 828 numbers of such  FTCs  functioning  in  the  country  as  on  31 st Dec,  2019  as  per  information received from High Courts.

In  furtherance  of  The  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  taking  special efforts,  the  Union  Government  has  finalized  a  new  scheme  of  FTSC  for  speedy trial and disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO act and communicated state Governments  and  Union  Territory  administrations  to  open  up  FTSCs  including exclusive  POCSO  courts  in  Sep  2019.    After  receipt  of  consent  from  the  State Governments/  UTs,  first  installment  of  central  share  of  funds  have  so  far  been released  to  27  States/UTs  for  setting  up  of  649  FTSCs  including  363  exclusive POCSO courts. As per information received from High Courts, 195 such courts have been established, the details of which are given at Annexure-1.

(f): Disposal of cases in courts is within the domain of the judiciary. The Union Government is committed to speedy disposal of cases and reduction in pendency of cases. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has adopted many  strategic  initiatives,  including  improving  infrastructure  [court  halls  and residential units] for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts, leveraging  Information  and  Communication  Technology  (ICT)  for  better  justice delivery,  filling  up  of  vacant  positions  of  Judges  in  High  Courts  and  Supreme Court, reduction in pendency through follow up by Arrears Committees at District, High Court and Supreme Court level, emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and initiatives to fast track special type of cases.  However, timely disposal of cases in courts also depends on several other factors which, inter-alia, include availability  of  adequate  number  of  judges,  supporting  court  staff  and  physical infrastructure, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures to monitor, track and bunch cases for hearing.

The central government has enacted The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 making the punishment for offences like rape more stringent by including death penalty  for  rape  of  a  girl  below  the  age  of  12  years.  The  Act  also,  inter-alia, mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each. Further, in order to ensure that the amendments in law effectively translate at ground level, and  to  enhance  women  safety  in  the  country,  the  Government  has  undertaken  a number of measures for implementation. These include an online analytic tool for police launched on 19th February 2019 called 'Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences' to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases  in  accordance  with  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Act  2018;  launch  of National  Database  on  Sexual  Offenders  (NDSO)  on  20th  September  2018  to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement  agencies;  sanction  of  Safe  City  Projects  in  phase-I  in  8  cities (Ahmedabad,  Bengaluru,  Chennai,  Delhi,  Hyderabad,  Kolkata,  Lucknow  and Mumbai)  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  for  using  technology  to  aid  smart  policing  and safety  management;  and  steps  taken  to  improve  investigation  by  strengthening DNA  analysis  units  in  Central  and  State  Forensic  Science  Laboratories,  which includes setting up of a State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science  Laboratory,  Chandigarh.  Guidelines  have  been  notified  for  collection  of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases and the standard composition in a sexual assault  evidence  collection  kit.  For  building  adequate  capacity  in  manpower, training and  skill building  programs  for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers have commenced.

***

## Annexure-1

## State wise details of No. of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) established for Women and Girl children under the Scheme of FTSCs (January 2020)

| States         |   No. of FTSCs |
|----------------|----------------|
| Madhya Pradesh |             56 |
| Chhattisgarh   |             15 |
| Delhi          |             16 |
| Tripura        |             03 |
| Jharkhand      |             22 |
| Rajasthan      |             26 |
| Telangana      |             09 |
| Gujarat        |             34 |
| Tamil Nadu     |             14 |
| Total          |            195 |