Lok Sabha Question No. 4070 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-24
Subject: Fast Track Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Hemant Tukaram Godse, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Kalaben Mohanbhai Delkar

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

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## TO BE ANSWRED ON FRIDAY, THE 24 th  MARCH 2023

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4070 FAST TRACK COURTS

## †4070. SHRI  HEMANT TUKARAM GODSE:

## SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

## SHRIMATI DELKAR  KALABEN  MOHANBHAI:

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

- (a) the details of fast track courts set up in the different parts of the country and the corpus of funds allocated for their functioning during the last three years, State and district-wise;\
- (b) whether  a  large  number  of  cases  are  still  pending  despite  setting  up  of various fast track courts and rural courts in various States of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the number of pending cases disposed of by these fast track courts and the rural courts since their inception;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to set up more courts and appoint more judges in the existing courts in order to dispose of the pending cases as soon as possible;
- (e) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; and
- (f) the  other  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  for  the disposal of pending cases within a time limit?

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

(a)  to  (e): Establishment of subordinate courts including fast track courts (FTC) and rural courts for providing speedy justice in the country 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 for setting up of 1800 Fast Track Courts (FTCs) during 20152020  for  speedy  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. TheFC had further urged State Governments to utilize enhanced fiscal space available through tax  devolution  (32%  to  42%)  for  this  purpose.  The  Union  Government  has  also urged the State Governments to allocate funds for the setting up of FTCs, from the financial year 2015-16 onward. As per information made available by High Courts, 843  FTCs  are  functional in the country as on 31.1.2023. The  details of FTCsfunctional,  cases  disposed  and  pending  in  these  courts  for  last  three  years including current year (January, 2023)are given at Annexure.

Pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government is implementing  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  setting  up  1023  Fast  Track Special  Courts  (FTSCs)  including  389  exclusive  Prevention  of  Children  from Sexual  Offences  (e-POCSO)  Courts  for  speedy  disposal  of  cases  related  to  rape

and POCSO Act since October 2019. The Scheme, initially, was for a period of one year spread over two Financial Years 2019-20 and 2020-21.The total cost of the project was Rs.767.25 Cr. with Rs.474 Cr. as Central Share to be funded from Nirbhaya Fund.  The Third Party Evaluation of the scheme was undertaken by the National Productivity Council which recommended for continuation of the scheme for 2 years. The Cabinet has approved continuation of the scheme up to 31 st March 2023 with a budgetary outlay of Rs.1572.86 Cr. including Rs.971.70 Cr. as Central Share.  As  per  information  made  available  by  High  Courts  764  FTSCs including 411 exclusive POCSO Courts are functional in 28 States/UTs which have disposed more than 1,44,000 cases while 1,98,563 cases are pending in these courts as on 31 st January 2023. 28 States/UTs have joined the scheme.In 21 States/UTs FTSCs are fully functional, in 7 States FTSCs are partially operational while 3 States/UTs i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and A&N Island are yet to join the Scheme. An amount of Rs.633.7 Cr. have been released to the States/UTs since inception of the scheme up to 31.03.2023.

(f): Disposal of cases lies exclusively within the domain of the judiciary. However, the  Government has taken several initiatives to provide suitable environment for timely disposal of cases by the judiciary, which areas follows:

- i. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Judicial Infrastructure, funds are being  released  to  States/UTs  for  construction  of  court  halls,  residential quarters  for  judicial  officers,  lawyers'  halls,  toilet  complexes  and  digital computer rooms that would provide infrastructure aimed to ease the work of

lawyers and litigants and aid justice delivery. As on date, Rs. 9755.51 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary in 199394. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 21,271 as on 28.02.2023, and number of residential units has increased from 10,211  as  on  30.06.2014  to  18,734  as  on  28.02.2023,  under  this  scheme.

- ii. Further, under the e-Courts Mission Mode  Project, information and communication technology (ICT) has been leveraged for IT enablement of district  and  subordinate  courts.  The  number  of  computerized  district  & subordinate  courts  has  increased  to  18,735  so  far.  WAN  connectivity  has been provided to 99.4% of court complexes.  Video conferencing facility has been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails. 689 e-SewaKendras have been set up at court complexes to facilitate lawyers and litigants needing assistance ranging from case status, getting judgments/orders,  court/case-related  information,  and  efiling  facilities.  21 virtual  courts  have  been  set  up  in  17  States/UTs.  As  on  31.01.2023,  these courts have handled more than 2.53 crore cases and realized more than Rs. 359  crores  in  fines.  E-courts  Phase  III  is  about  to  begin  which  intends  to incorporate  latest  technology  such  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  and  Block chain  to  make  justice  delivery  more  robust,  easy  and  accessible  to  all  the stakeholders.
- iii. Government has been regularly filling up the vacancies in higher judiciary. From  01.05.2014  to  07.03.2023,  54  Judges  were  appointed  in  Supreme Court.  887  new  Judges  were  appointed  and  646  Additional  Judges  were made permanent in the High Courts. Sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts  has  been  increased  from  906  in  May,  2014  to  1114  currently.

sanctioned and working strength of judicial officers in district and subordinate courts has increased as follow:

| As on      | Sanctioned Strength   | Working Strength   |
|------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 31.12.2013 | 19,518                | 15,115             |
| 20.03.2023 | 25,189                | 19,522             |

However,  filling  up  of  vacancies  in  subordinate  judiciary  falls  within  the domain of the State Governments and high courts concerned.

- iv. In pursuance of a Resolution passed in Chief Justices' Conference held in April, 2015, Arrears Committees have been set up in all 25 High Courts to clear cases pending for more than five years.  Arrears Committees have been set up under District courts as well.
- v. Under the aegis of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, the government has established Fast Track Courts for dealing with cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc. As on 31.01.2023, 843 Fast Track Courts are functional for heinous crimes, crimes against women, and children etc. To fast-track criminal cases involving elected MPs / MLAs, ten (10) Special Courts are functional in nine (9) States/UTs.
- vi. With  a  view  to  reduce  pendency  and  unclogging  of  the  courts,  the Government  has recently amended  various laws like the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Commercial Courts (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.

- vii. Alternate Dispute Resolution methods have been promoted wholeheartedly. Accordingly,  the  Commercial  Courts  Act,  2015  was  amended  on  20 th August,  2018  making  Pre-institution  Mediation  and  Settlement  (PIMS) mandatory  in  case  of  commercial  disputes.  Amendment  to  the  Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made  by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines.
- viii. LokAdalat  is  an  important  Alternative  Disputes  Resolution  Mechanism available to common people. It is a forum where the disputes/ cases pending in  the  court  of  law  or  at  pre-litigation  stage  are  settled/  compromised amicably.  Under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a LokAdalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and  binding  on  all  parties  and  no  appeal  lies  against  thereto  before  any court. LokAdalat is not a permanent establishment.  National LokAdalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a prefixed date. The details of the case disposed off in LokAdalats during the last three years are as under: -
- ix. The  Government  launched  the  Tele-Law  programme  in  2017,  which provided an effective and reliable e-interface platform connecting the needy and disadvantaged sections seeking legal advice and consultation with panel lawyers via video conferencing, telephone and chat facilities available at the

| Years       | Pre-litigation Cases   | Pending Cases   | Grand Total   |
|-------------|------------------------|-----------------|---------------|
| 72,06,294   | 55,81,743              | 1,27,88,037     | 2021          |
| 3,10,15,215 | 1,09,10,795            | 4,19,26,010     | 2022          |
| 1,75,98,095 | 30,25,724              | 2,06,23,819     | 2023          |
| Total       | 5,58,19,604            | 1,95,18,262     | 7,53,37,866   |

Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated in Gram Panchayat and through Tele-Law mobile App.

*Percentage Wise break-up of Tele - Law Data

| Till 28 th Feb, 2023   | Cases Registered    | %Wise Break Up      | Advice Enabled      | %Wise Break Up      |
|------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Gender Wise            | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         | Gender Wise         |
| Female                 | 11,46,046           | 33.43               | 11,23,504           | 33.49               |
| Male                   | 22,82,642           | 66.57               | 22,31,041           | 66.51               |
| Caste Category Wise    | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise | Caste Category Wise |
| General                | 7,31,346            | 21.33               | 7,12,646            | 21.24               |
| OBC                    | 10,08,050           | 29.40               | 9,83,336            | 29.31               |
| SC                     | 10,86,611           | 31.69               | 10,66,037           | 31.78               |
| ST                     | 6,02,681            | 17.58               | 5,92,526            | 17.66               |
| Total                  | 34,28,688           |                     | 33,54,545           |                     |

- x. Efforts  have  been  made  to  institutionalize  pro  bono  culture  and  pro  bono lawyering  the  country.  A  technological  framework  has  been  put  in  place where advocates volunteering to give their time and services for pro bono work can register as Pro Bono Advocates on Nyaya Bandhu (Android & iOS and  Apps).  Nyaya  Bandhu  Services  also  available  on  UMANG  Platform. Pro  Bono  Panel  of  advocates  has  been  initiated  in  21  High  Courts  at  the State level. Pro Bono Clubs have been started in 69 select Laws Schools to instill Pro Bono culture in budding lawyers.

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## Annexure for Lok Sabha Unstarred Question Number 4070 for 24/3/2023

Details of FTCs functional, cases disposed of and cases pending for last three years including current year

|        |              | 2020                       | 2020                              | 2020                                 | 2021                       | 2021                              | 2021                                 | 2022                       | 2022                              | 2022                                 | January,                  | January,                             | January,                            |
|--------|--------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| S. No. | State/UTs    | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st January) | 2023 Cases Disposed during the month | Cases pending (as on 31 st January) |
| 1      | Andhra Pr    | 21                         | 1177                              | 10069                                | 21                         | 312                               | 10069                                | 22                         | 1446                              | 6855                                 | 22                        | 111                                  | 7446                                |
| 2      | A&NIsland    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 3      | Arunachal Pr | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 4      | Assam        | 14                         | 2615                              | 10108                                | 16                         | 3780                              | 9356                                 | 16                         | 7413                              | 10750                                | 18                        | 540                                  | 11049                               |
| 5      | Bihar        | 33                         | 1759                              | 58636                                | 0                          | 1603                              | 69792                                | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 6      | Chandigarh   |                            | 0                                 |                                      | 0                          |                                   |                                      | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 7      | Chhattisgarh | 23                         | 2877                              | 15310                                | 23                         | 5324                              | 17779                                | 23                         | 4158                              | 5330                                 | 23                        | 262                                  | 5349                                |
| 8      | D&N Haveli   |                            | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 9      | Delhi        | 5                          | 393                               | 40733                                | 7                          | 223                               | 48520                                | 10                         | 1019                              | 4057                                 | 10                        | 75                                   | 4084                                |
| 10     | Diu &Daman   | 0                          | 0                                 |                                      | 0                          |                                   |                                      | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 11     | Goa          | 0                          | 130                               | 0                                    | 0                          | 59974                             | 0                                    | 4                          | 7114                              | 2215                                 | 4                         | 940                                  | 2288                                |
| 12     | Gujarat      | 0                          | 462                               | 33560                                | 35                         | 37102                             | 35335                                | 54                         | 3784                              | 6791                                 | 51                        | 464                                  | 6730                                |
| 13     | Haryana      | 5                          | 825                               | 58511                                | 6                          | 899                               | 65337                                | 6                          | 433                               | 873                                  | 6                         | 42                                   | 668                                 |
| 14     | Himachal Pr  | 0                          | 0                                 | 15618                                | 0                          | 5                                 | 5102                                 | 3                          | 313                               | 497                                  | 3                         | 12                                   | 495                                 |
| 15     | J&K          | 1                          | 27                                | 0                                    | 4                          | 391                               | 0                                    | 4                          | 54                                | 686                                  | 4                         | 2                                    | 691                                 |
| 16     | Jharkhand    | 40                         | 624                               | 14507                                | 6                          | 861                               | 19371                                | 34                         | 2417                              | 7836                                 | 34                        | 268                                  | 7813                                |
| 17     | Karnataka    | 13                         | 210                               | 38365                                | 18                         | 2051                              | 39458                                | 0                          | 1257                              | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 18     | Kerala       | 23                         | 217                               | 100479                               | 28                         | 2333                              | 114020                               | 0                          | 1650                              | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 19     | Ladakh       | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 20     | Lakshadweep  | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 21     | Madhya Pr    | 2                          | 1                                 | 15584                                | 0                          | 0                                 | 25769                                | 1                          | 59                                | 193                                  | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 22     | Maharashtra  | 116                        | 63470                             | 52079                                | 110                        | 114254                            | 67315                                | 111                        | 118311                            | 158149                               | 111                       | 8506                                 | 162135                              |
| 23     | Manipur      | 6                          | 45                                | 634                                  | 6                          | 73081                             | 634                                  | 6                          | 316                               | 360                                  | 6                         | 16                                   | 351                                 |
| 24     | Meghalaya    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                          | 11                                | 0                                    | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 25     | Mizoram      | 2                          | 179                               | 0                                    | 2                          | 1758                              | 0                                    | 2                          | 221                               | 223                                  | 2                         | 8                                    | 230                                 |
| 26     | Nagaland     | 1                          | 3                                 | 66                                   | 0                          | 3                                 | 153                                  | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 27     | Odisha       | 0                          | 0                                 | 39670                                | 19                         | 234                               | 44689                                | 0                          | 304                               | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 28     | Puducherry   | 0                          | 0                                 | 1535                                 | 0                          | 0                                 | 1452                                 | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |
| 29     | Punjab       | 7                          | 85                                | 52198                                | 7                          | 471                               | 85061                                | 7                          | 248                               | 255                                  | 7                         | 31                                   | 251                                 |
| 30     | Rajasthan    | 0                          | 0                                 | 44222                                | 0                          | 32                                | 46048                                | 0                          | 0                                 | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                                    | 0                                   |

Contd…….

## Annexure

|        |             | 2020                       | 2020                              | 2020                                 | 2021                       | 2021                              | 2021                                 | 2022                       | 2022                              | 2022                                 | January, 2023             | January, 2023                   | January, 2023                       |
|--------|-------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| S. No. | State/UTs   | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st December) | Cases Disposed of During the year | Cases pending (as on 31 st December) | FTC (as on 31 st January) | Cases Disposed during the month | Cases pending (as on 31 st January) |
| 31     | Sikkim      | 2                          | 5                                 | 188                                  | 2                          | 5                                 | 195                                  | 2                          | 20                                | 14                                   | 2                         | 1                               | 14                                  |
| 32     | Tamil Nadu  | 73                         | 9389                              | 29970                                | 74                         | 7865                              | 32519                                | 73                         | 24993                             | 107346                               | 73                        | 1363                            | 107788                              |
| 33     | Telangana   | 29                         | 1525                              | 15469                                | 35                         | 2849                              | 18095                                | 0                          | 2645                              | 0                                    | 0                         | 0                               | 0                                   |
| 34     | Tripura     | 11                         | 100                               | 2551                                 | 11                         | 347                               | 3604                                 | 3                          | 386                               | 1393                                 | 3                         | 15                              | 1382                                |
| 35     | UP          | 389                        | 148466                            | 413176                               | 376                        | 86013                             | 396462                               | 372                        | 333049                            | 1086490                              | 372                       | 36578                           | 1115130                             |
| 36     | Uttarakhand | 4                          | 170                               | 15119                                | 4                          | 215                               | 15997                                | 7                          | 554                               | 1532                                 | 4                         | 40                              | 932                                 |
| 37     | WB          | 87                         | 5202                              | 0                                    | 88                         | 3172                              | 1166                                 | 88                         | 21065                             | 72824                                | 88                        | 1900                            | 74016                               |
|        | Total       | 907                        | 239956                            | 1078357                              | 898                        | 405168                            | 1173298                              | 848                        | 533229                            | 1474669                              | 843                       | 51174                           | 1508842                             |