Lok Sabha Question No. 2120 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-10
Subject: POCSO Cases
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: T.N. Prathapan

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2120 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 10 th  DECEMBER, 2021

## POCSO CASES

2120. SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN:

SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken note that thousands of cases are pending due to lack of judicial courts across the country, if so, the corrective steps taken by the Government to resolve the issue;
- (b) the number of courts allocated and those presently functional, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has proposed to set up fast track courts for prosecuting rape and POCSO cases across the country, if so, the number of such courts along with the number of under trial cases thereunder;
- (d)  whether the Government has taken any steps to increase the number of these courts, if so, the details of new courts set up so far and if not, the reasons therefor, State/UT-wise; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  proposed  to  increase  the  number  of  public prosecutors for law enforcement agencies, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE

(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a): The number of cases pending with various courts in the country is as under:-

|   Sl. No. | Name of Court                | Pendency as on             |
|-----------|------------------------------|----------------------------|
|         1 | Supreme Court of India       | 70,038 (08.11.2021)*       |
|         2 | High Courts                  | 56,45,617 (06.12.2021)**   |
|         3 | District &Subordinate Courts | 4,09,34,646 (06.12.2021)** |

Disposal  of  cases  pending  in  various  courts  is  within  the  domain  of  judiciary. Timely disposal of cases in courts depends on several factors which, inter-alia, include availability of adequate number of judges and judicial officers, supporting court staff and physical infrastructure, complexity of facts involved, nature of evidence, co-operation of stake holders viz. bar, investigation agencies, witnesses and litigants and proper application of rules and procedures. There are several factors which may lead to delay in disposal of cases.  These, inter-alia, include vacancies of judges, frequent adjournments and  lack  of  adequate  arrangement  to  monitor,  track  and  bunch  cases  for  hearing.    The Central  Government is  fully  committed  to  speedy  disposal  of  cases  in  accordance  with Article 21 of the Constitution and reducing pendency.  The Government has taken several initiatives to provide an ecosystem for faster disposal of cases by the judiciary.  National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August, 2011 with the twin objectives  of  increasing  access  by  reducing  delays  and  arrears  in  the  system  and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and  capacities.    The  Mission  has  been  pursuing  a  co-ordinated  approach  for  phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate  judiciary,  policy  and  legislative  measures  in  the  areas  prone  to  excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

(b): A  statement  showing  the  list  of  District  and  Subordinate  Court  Complexes  as available at National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is at Annexure.

(c) to (e): The Department of Justice is implementing a scheme for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs)  including 389 Exclusive  POCSO  Courts  for expeditious  trial  and  disposal  of  cases  related  to  rape  and  POCSO  Act.  This  Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  started  in  October,  2019  which  has  been  extended  for  further  two years up to 31.03.2023 at a total cost of Rs. 1572.86 crore with Central share of Rs.971.70

crore. As per information provided by the High Courts for the month of October 2021, a total of 681 FTSCs including 381 exclusive POCSO courts are functional in 27 States/UTs across the country. Upto October 2021, these courts have disposed of 64217 cases, while 181689 cases are still pending.

Setting  up  of  subordinate  courts  including  Fast  Track  Courts  (FTCs)  and  its functioning comes within the domain of the State Governments in consultation with the respective  High  Courts.  The  appointment  of  Public  Prosecutors  for  conducting  the criminal  trials  under  the  provisions  of  IPC  and  other  special  laws  is  done  by  the  State Governments.  However,  Department  of  Legal  Affairs  in  September  2019  requested  the Chief  Secretaries  of  all  the  States  to  ensure  that  special  courts  being  setup  to  handle POCSO-related  cases  have  adequate  number  of  Special  Public  Prosecutors  who  are appointed under section 24(8) of Cr.PC with due regard to their qualifications as well as the orientation towards child rights.

*******

## Annexure

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2120 FOR ANSWER ON 10.12.2021 REGARDING POCSO CASES.

| Sr No       | States/UTs          |   Total Districts |   Total Court Complexes |
|-------------|---------------------|-------------------|-------------------------|
| 1           | Andaman and Nicobar |                 1 |                       4 |
| 2           | Andhra Pradesh      |                13 |                     187 |
| 3           | Assam               |                30 |                      71 |
| 4           | Bihar               |                37 |                      79 |
| 5           | Chandigarh          |                 1 |                       2 |
| 6           | Chhattisgarh        |                23 |                      89 |
| 7           | Delhi               |                11 |                      12 |
| 8           | Diu and Daman       |                 2 |                       2 |
| 9           | DNH at Silvasa      |                 1 |                       2 |
| 10          | Goa                 |                 2 |                      16 |
| 11          | Gujarat             |                32 |                     332 |
| 12          | Haryana             |                21 |                      58 |
| 13          | Himachal Pradesh    |                11 |                      50 |
| 14          | Jammu and Kashmir   |                20 |                      81 |
| 15          | Jharkhand           |                24 |                      24 |
| 16          | Karnataka           |                30 |                     205 |
| 17          | Kerala              |                15 |                     165 |
| 18          | Ladakh              |                 2 |                       3 |
| 19          | Madhya Pradesh      |                50 |                     225 |
| 20          | Maharashtra         |                40 |                     478 |
| 21          | Manipur             |                 9 |                      20 |
| 22          | Meghalaya           |                 9 |                      10 |
| 23          | Mizoram             |                 3 |                       9 |
| 24          | Nagaland            |                 4 |                       5 |
| 25          | Odisha              |                30 |                     122 |
| 26          | Puducherry          |                 4 |                       0 |
| 27          | Punjab              |                22 |                      68 |
| 28          | Rajasthan           |                36 |                     311 |
| 29          | Sikkim              |                 4 |                       9 |
| 30          | Tamil Nadu          |                32 |                     265 |
| 31          | Telangana           |                10 |                     110 |
| 32          | Tripura             |                 8 |                      24 |
| 33          | Uttar Pradesh       |                74 |                     170 |
| 34          | Uttarakhand         |                13 |                      61 |
| 35          | West Bengal         |                22 |                      89 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total         |               646 |                    3358 |

Source: National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)