Lok Sabha Question No. 4918 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-31
Subject: Utilisation of Funds for Establishment of FTCs
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Nishikant  Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4918 TO BE ANSWRED ON FRIDAY, THE 31 st  MARCH 2023

## UTILISATION OF FUNDS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF FTCs

## 4918. SHRI MANOJ TIWARI: DR.NISHIKANT DUBEY:

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

- (a) whether the Government intends to increase the number of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in the country;
- (b) if  so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the total funds allocated and utilised for the establishment of these courts during each of the last three years and the current year; and
- (d) whether the Government has allocated more funds to States for the establishment of these courts and for the appointment of more judges and if so, the details thereof?

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

- (a)  to  (d):  Setting  up  of  Fast  Track  Courts  (FTCs)  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.   FTCs were created during 11 th Finance Commission for disposal of long pending cases based

on  the  findings  of  a  study  that  one  such  court  can  dispose  up  to  168  cases  in  a year.  Central funding has been discontinued after 31.03.2015.  Subsequently, 14 th Finance Commission had recommended that the number of FTCs to be established should be 10% of the sanctioned strength of Judicial Officers of the State.  The 14 th Finance Commission had recommended the setting up of 1800 FTCs during 20152020  for  trial  of  specific  cases  of  heinous  nature,  civil  cases  related  to  women, children, senior citizen, disabled persons, persons infected with terminal ailments etc and property related cases pending for more than 5 years and had urged State Governments  to  utilize  enhanced  fiscal  space  available  through  tax  devolution (32% to 42%) for this purpose. As per information received from High Courts the number  of  functional  FTCs,  State/UT-wise  as  on  31 st January,  2023,  is  given  in Annexure .

Information on funds allocated by the respective States for functioning of FTCs is not maintained centrally. As Central funding stands discontinued for FTCs since April 2015, the question of allocation of more funds by the  Centre to the States does not arise.However, pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government since October, 2019 is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme  for  setting  up  1023  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs)  including  389 exclusive  POCSO  (Prevention  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences)  Courts  for speedy disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act. The Scheme, initially, was for a period of one year which has been extended up to 31 st March 2023 with a budgetary outlay of Rs.1572.86 Cr. including Rs.971.70 Cr. as Central Share. Rs.

634.6 Cr. has been released as central share to the States/UTs for operationalization  of  FTSCs  since2019.  As  per  information  made  available  by High Courts, as on 31 st January, 2023, 764 FTSCs including 411 exclusive POCSO courts  are  functional  which  have  disposed  more  than  1,44,000  pending  cases. Regular  review  meetings  have  been  conducted  by  the  Department  of  Justice  to expedite  the  robust  implementation  of  the  scheme  including  establishment  of remaining FTSCs. In addition, Minister of Law and Justice has addressed letters to the Chief Ministers of States/UTs and Chief Justice of High Courts for operationalisation of the remaining FTSCs. st

For further extension of FTSCs beyond 31 March 2023,Third Party evaluation of the scheme has been undertaken by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA).

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## ANNEXURE

## Annexure for Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4918 for 31.03.2023

## Status of Functional Fast Track Courts (FTCs) (As on 31 st January, 2023)

| S.No   | State/UTs               |   Functional FTCs |
|--------|-------------------------|-------------------|
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh          |                22 |
| 2      | Andaman &Nicobar Island |                 0 |
| 3      | Arunachal Pradesh       |                 0 |
| 4      | Assam                   |                18 |
| 5      | Bihar                   |                 0 |
| 6      | Chandigarh              |                 0 |
| 7      | Chhattisgarh            |                23 |
| 8      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli     |                 0 |
| 9      | Delhi                   |                10 |
| 10     | Diu &Daman              |                 0 |
| 11     | Goa                     |                 4 |
| 12     | Gujarat                 |                51 |
| 13     | Haryana                 |                 6 |
| 14     | Himachal Pradesh        |                 3 |
| 15     | Jammu &Kashmir          |                 4 |
| 16     | Jharkhand               |                34 |
| 17     | Karnataka               |                 0 |
| 18     | Kerala                  |                 0 |
| 19     | Ladakh                  |                 0 |
| 20     | Lakshadweep             |                 0 |
| 21     | Madhya Pradesh          |                 0 |
| 22     | Maharashtra             |               111 |
| 23     | Manipur                 |                 6 |
| 24     | Meghalaya               |                 0 |
| 25     | Mizoram                 |                 2 |
| 26     | Nagaland                |                 0 |
| 27     | Odisha                  |                 0 |
| 28     | Puducherry              |                 0 |
| 29     | Punjab                  |                 7 |
| 30     | Rajasthan               |                 0 |
| 31     | Sikkim                  |                 2 |
| 32     | Tamil Nadu              |                73 |
| 33     | Telangana               |                 0 |
| 34     | Tripura                 |                 3 |
| 35     | Uttar Pradesh           |               372 |
| 36     | Uttarakhand             |                 4 |
| 37     | West Bengal             |                88 |
|        | TOTAL                   |               843 |