Lok Sabha Question No. 2132 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-29
Subject: Fast Track Court
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Ramcharan Bohra, Nishikant  Dubey, Thomas Chazhikadan

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2132

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 29 th  July, 2022

## Fast Track Court

## †2132. SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA: DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN

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

- (a) the details of fast track courts/new fast track court set up and functioning along with the number of cases lying pending thereunder in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise;
- (b)  the  total  amount  allocated  and  spent  to  establish  said  courts  during  the  said period;
- (c)    whether  the  Government  proposes  to  allocate  more  funds  to  States  for  the establishment of such courts and for the appointment of more judges and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any study to determine the efficiency of fast track courts vis-a-vis regular courts; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof  ?

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

(a)The  details  of  Fast  Track  Courts/new  Fast  Track  Court  (FTC)  set  up  and functioning  along  with  the  number  of  cases  lying  pending  thereunder  in  the country during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise, as per information provided by High Courts, is given in Annexure.

(b)&(c):Setting up of FTC and allocation of funds lies within the domain of the State  Governments  who  set  up  such  courts  as  per  their  need  and  resources,  in consultation with the respective High Courts. The 14 th Finance Commission (FC) had recommended the setting up of total 1800 FTCs during 2015-2020 for trial of specific  cases  of  heinous  nature,  civil  cases  related  to  women,  children,  senior citizen, disabled, persons infected with terminal ailments etc and property related cases pending for more than 5 years. The FC had further urged State Governments to utilize enhanced fiscal space available through tax devolution (32% to 42%) for this purpose. Further the Union Government has also urged the State Governments to  allocate  funds  for  the  setting  up  of  FTC,  from  the  financial  year  2015-16 onward. Further, in pursuance to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Department of Justice is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up  1023  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs)  to  provide  speedy  justice  to  the victims of rape and POCSO Act. The FTSC scheme was started in October 2019

which  is  funded  under  Nirbhaya  Fund.  As  on  30.06.2022,  728  FTSCs  are functional in 28 States/UTs.

(d)&(e): A Plan Scheme for Action Research and Studies on Judicial Reforms is being implemented by the Department of Justice under the National Mission for Justice  Delivery  and  Legal  Reforms  since  2013.  Under  the  Scheme,  financial assistance is  being  extended  for  undertaking  action  research  / evaluation  / monitoring  studies,  organizing  seminars  /  conferences  /  workshops,  capacity building  for  research  and  monitoring  activities,  publication  of  report/material, promotion of innovative programmes / activities in the areas of Justice Delivery, Legal Research and Judicial Reforms. Under this scheme, a study on 'Evaluation of  Functioning  of  Fast  Track  Courts  in  India'  was  conducted  by  National  Law University, Delhi. As per the findings of the study, the establishment of FTCs was not  accompanied  by  special  infrastructure,  special  administration,  and  separate cadre  of  staff  or  relaxation  of  the  procedure.  Therefore,  their  working  is  no different  from  regular  courts  and  they  face  the  same  structural  difficulties  as regular  courts.  The  lack  of  adequate  support  has  caused  overburdening  of  the FTCs. The following recommendations were made to improving the efficiency:

-  Appointment of more experienced Judges in the FTCs.
-  Need for specific recommendations of the National Court Management System which are applicable to Fast Track Courts.

-  Judges to put case-specific time frames for deciding cases in FTCs as suggested by the 245 th report of Law Commission of India.
-  Monthly meetings at the district level of all judicial officers in FTCs to monitor their progress and ensuring day-to-day hearing in a fast-track proceeding.
-  Providing a safe and comfortable environment to victims especially women and children in all FTCs  in the country by using modern  technology  like videoconferencing/videography.
-  Judges to be provided with proper and updated modern facilities like computer, technical staff and internet.
-  Incentives to be given to judges for the disposal of cases which are pending for more than 5 years
-  Vulnerable Witness Deposition Complexes (such as those established in Delhi) to be set up in other districts as well.

## Annexure

## Annexure given in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2132 Status of FTCs - Cases

functionaland pending during last three years including current year (StatesUTs wise)

| Sl No.   | State/UT       | Dec, 2019         | Dec, 2019     | Dec, 2020         | Dec, 2020     | Dec, 2021         | Dec, 2021     | May, 2022         | May, 2022     |
|----------|----------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|
|          |                | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending |
| 1        | Andhra Pr      | 21                | 33430         | 21                | 30577         | 21                | 6153          | 21                | 6153          |
| 2        | Assam          | 19                | 21235         | 14                | 41062         | 16                | 9942          | 17                | 9999          |
| 3        | Bihar          | 57                | 142272        | 33                | 35921         | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh   | 38                | 37792         | 23                | 33143         | 23                | 6060          | 23                | 5379          |
| 5        | Delhi          | 10                | 74904         | 5                 | 13086         | 7                 | 2776          | 08                | 2932          |
| 6        | Gujarat        | 0                 | 53951         | 0                 | 13187         | 35                | 5633          | 35                | 5192          |
| 7        | Goa            | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 1640          | 0                 | 0             | 04                | 1806          |
| 8        | Haryana        | 6                 | 91966         | 5                 | 3050          | 6                 | 856           | 06                | 892           |
| 9        | Himachal       | 0                 | 23818         | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             | 03                | 537           |
| 10       | Jammu& Kashmir | 5                 | 0             | 1                 | 1191          | 4                 | 620           | 04                | 657           |
| 11       | Jharkhand      | 0                 | 32585         | 40                | 20038         | 6                 | 1009          | 33                | 7097          |
| 12       | Karnataka      | 0                 | 60852         | 13                | 8466          | 18                | 3962          | 24                | 5054          |
| 13       | Kerala         | 0                 | 152782        | 23                | 11523         | 28                | 7653          | 14                | 4225          |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh | 0                 | 97150         | 2                 | 151           | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             |
| 15       | Maharashtra    | 91                | 253655        | 116               | 674824        | 110               | 130868        | 107               | 130875        |
| 16       | Manipur        | 4                 | 2004          | 6                 | 1686          | 6                 | 430           | 06                | 490           |
| 17       | Meghalaya      | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             |

| Sl No.   | State/UT      | Dec, 2019         | Dec, 2019     | Dec, 2020         | Dec, 2020     | Dec, 2021         | Dec, 2021     | May, 2022         | May, 2022     |
|----------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|-------------------|---------------|
|          |               | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending | functional Courts | Cases Pending |
| 18       | Mizoram       | 2                 | 313           | 2                 | 841           | 2                 | 207           | 02                | 254           |
| 19       | Nagaland      | 0                 | 147           | 1                 | 119           | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             |
| 20       | Odisha        | 0                 | 70073         | 0                 | 0             | 19                | 3244          | 0                 | 0             |
| 21       | Punjab        | 0                 | 80386         | 7                 | 2248          | 7                 | 300           | 07                | 275           |
| 22       | Puducherry    | 0                 | 1155          | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 0             |
| 23       | Rajasthan     | 0                 | 77530         | 0                 | 0             | 0                 | 23            | 0                 | 0             |
| 24       | Sikkim        | 1                 | 261           | 2                 | 65            | 2                 | 0             | 02                | 16            |
| 25       | Tamil Nadu    | 74                | 188183        | 73                | 449359        | 74                | 97262         | 74                | 101328        |
| 26       | Telangana     | 29                | 41841         | 29                | 40510         | 35                | 12063         | 35                | 12538         |
| 27       | Tripura       | 11                | 5747          | 11                | 6186          | 11                | 1607          | 03                | 1333          |
| 28       | Uttar Pradesh | 368               | 1435186       | 389               | 2097151       | 376               | 732759        | 372               | 843868        |
| 29       | Uttarakhand   | 4                 | 22615         | 4                 | 3556          | 4                 | 763           | 04                | 855           |
| 30       | West Bengal   | 88                | 95923         | 87                | 214879        | 88                | 61335         | 88                | 70009         |
|          | Total         | 828               | 3097756       | 907               | 3704459       | 898               | 1085525       | 892               | 1211764       |