Lok Sabha Question No. 3843 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-25
Subject: Pending Cases in POCSO Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Hanuman Beniwal

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

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## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3843

TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 25 th MARCH, 2022

## Pending Cases in POCSO Courts

## †3843  SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL :

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a)  the  number  of    pending  cases  in  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts in various States in the country including Rajasthan; and

(b)  whether  the  Government  has  formulated  any  plan  for  speedy  disposal  of such cases and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a):  As per information provided by High Courts, the details of the number of the pending cases in POCSO courts in various States in the country including Rajasthan is given at Annexure-I

(b): Union Government has started a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including 389 exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO)  Courts  in  31  States/UTs  for  expeditious  trial  and  disposal  of  cases related to rape and POCSO  Act, in pursuance to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 and the direction of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Suo Moto 1/2019 dated 25.7.2019.  Initially, the Scheme was for 1 year which has been continued up to 31.03.2023 at a cost of Rs. 1572.86 crore with Central share  of  Rs.971.70  crore.  Central  share  is  to  be  met  from  Nirbhaya  Fund.  28 States/UTs  have  joined  the  scheme  while  States  of  West  Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh  and  UT  of  Andaman  &  Nicobar  Island  are  yet  to  join.  As  per information received from

the  High  Courts  for  the  month  of  February,  2022,  total  712 FTSCs  including 399  e-POCSO  Courts  are  operationalized  which  disposed  more  than  81,400 cases. Nodal Officers have been appointed by the High Courts and a dedicated dashboardhas been created for the States/UTs to upload monthly data. The issue of setting up of FTSCs and their early operationalization has been taken up with concerned  States/UTs  at  various  level  from  time  to  time.  Minister  of  Law  & Justice has addressed letters to Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of High Courts in this regard. In addition, regular review meetings with officials of the States/UTs and High Court functionaries are being held from time to time. Apart from the above, the issueof early operationalization of remaining FTSCs and robust implementation of the scheme has been raised as one of the agenda point in Inter State Zonal Council meetings.

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Annexure given in Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. † 3483 Status of State/UT Wise Pending Cases in POCSO Courts (As on 31/1/2022) Annexure-I

| S.No   | States/UTs               | Cases Pending   |
|--------|--------------------------|-----------------|
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh,          | 3701            |
| 2      | Andaman& Nicobar Islands | Not Available   |
| 3      | Arunachal Pradesh        | 282             |
| 4      | Assam                    | 6225            |
| 5      | Bihar                    | 14089           |
| 6      | Chandigarh               | 176             |
| 7      | Chhattisgarh             | 5329            |
| 8      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      | 48              |
| 9      | Delhi                    | 8429            |
| 10     | Diu &Daman               | 40              |
| 11     | Goa                      | 59              |
| 12     | Gujarat                  | 7655            |
| 13     | Haryana                  | 4892            |
| 14     | Himachal Pradesh         | 501             |
| 15     | Jammu &Kashmir           | 513             |
| 16     | Jharkhand                | 4532            |
| 17     | Karnataka                | 2567            |
| 18     | Kerala                   | 4031            |
| 19     | Ladakh                   | 3               |
| 20     | Lakshadweep              | 28              |
| 21     | Madhya Pradesh           | 10409           |
| 22     | Maharashtra              | 30677           |
| 23     | Manipur                  | 62              |
| 24     | Meghalaya                | Not Available   |
| 25     | Mizoram                  | 316             |
| 26     | Nagaland                 | Not Available   |
| 27     | Odisha                   | 12332           |
| 28     | Puducherry               | 212             |
| 29     | Punjab                   | 2504            |
| 30     | Rajasthan                | 8573            |
| 31     | Sikkim                   | Not Available   |
| 32     | Tamil Nadu               | 7493            |
| 33     | Telangana                | 9004            |
| 34     | Tripura                  | 469             |
| 35     | Uttar Pradesh            | 60729           |
| 36     | Uttarakhand              | 1199            |
| 37     | West Bengal              | 19649           |
|        | Total                    | 226728          |

Note: Data for the State of Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya is up-to 30/9/2020 and 31/12/2021 respectively.