Lok Sabha Question No. 1364 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Additional Fast Track Special Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: S. Jothimani

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1364 ANSWERED ON - 09/02/2024

## ADDITIONAL FAST TRACK SPECIAL COURTS

1364 . MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  establish  additional  fast-track  courts  to address the rising number of cases related to sexual offences;
- (b) the current status of fast-track courts dedicated to handling cases of crimes such as rapes in the country;
- (c) the  number  of  operational  fast-track  courts  specifically  focusing  on  sexual  offences, State-wise;
- (d) the number of pending cases related to sexual crimes in these fast-track courts and the measures being taken to expedite the resolution of pending cases; and
- (e)   the steps taken by the Government to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of fast-track courts in delivering justice for victims of crimes like rape?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) to (e): The establishment of subordinate courts including Fast Track Courts (FTCs) 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 2015-2020 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. The FC 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, 851 FTCs are functional in the country as on 31.12.2023. State-wise details are given in Annexure-I .

Additionally,  pursuant  to  the  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  the  Central Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) since October, 2019 for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases pertaining to Rape and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in a time-bound manner. As per the data submitted by High Courts, 757  FTSCs  including  411  exclusive  POCSO  (e-POCSO)  courts  are  functional  in  30 States/UTs, as on 31.12.2023. These courts have disposed of more than 2,14,000 cases as on 31.12.2023.State-wise functional Fast Track Special Courts including exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) Courts along with cumulative disposal and pendency as on 31.12.2023 are given at Annexure-II .

For  efficient  implementation  of  the  scheme,  the  Department  of  Justice  is  conducting regular review meetings through Video Conferencing with the State Governments and High Court officials.  Communications have been sent at the level of Hon'ble Minister of Law & Justice to the Hon'ble Chief Ministers of the States/UTs and Hon'ble Chief Justices of High Courts to ensure adherence to timelines for disposal of cases as prescribed by the amendment to CrPC in 2018.  To ensure effective monitoring and data collection, a dashboard has been created  to  gather  detailed  information  and  track  the  performance  of  the  FTSCs.  The performance of FTSCs is also a permanent item on the agenda of Inter-State Zonal Council meetings.

***

## Annexure as referred to in Reply to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.1364 for 9 th  February 2024

## State/UT-wise functional FTCs as on 31.12.2023

| Sl.No.   | Name of State/UTs       | No. of Functional Fast Track Court   |
|----------|-------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh          | 22                                   |
| 2        | Andaman &Nicobar Island | 0                                    |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh       | 0                                    |
| 4        | Assam                   | 15                                   |
| 5        | Bihar                   | 0                                    |
| 6        | Chandigarh              | 0                                    |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh            | 23                                   |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli     | 0                                    |
| 9        | Delhi                   | 27                                   |
| 10 11    | Diu &Daman Goa          | 0 6                                  |
| 12       | Gujarat                 | 54                                   |
| 13       | Haryana                 |                                      |
| 14       |                         | 6                                    |
|          | Himachal Pradesh        | 3                                    |
| 15       | Jammu &Kashmir          | 8                                    |
| 16 17    | Jharkhand Karnataka     | 36 0                                 |
| 18       | Kerala                  | 0                                    |
|          | Ladakh                  |                                      |
| 19       | Lakshadweep             | 0 0                                  |
| 20       |                         |                                      |
| 21       | Madhya Pradesh          | 0                                    |
| 22       | Maharashtra             | 95                                   |
| 23       | Manipur * Meghalaya     | 6                                    |
| 24       |                         | 0                                    |
| 25 26    | Mizoram Nagaland        | 2 0                                  |
| 27       | Odisha                  | 0                                    |
| 28 29    | Puducherry Punjab       | 0 7                                  |
| 30       | Rajasthan               | 0                                    |
| 31       | Sikkim Tamil Nadu       | 2 72                                 |
| 32       | Telangana               | 0                                    |
| 33 34    | Tripura                 | 3                                    |
| 35       | Uttar Pradesh           | 372                                  |
| 36       | Uttarakhand             | 4                                    |
|          | West Bengal             | 88                                   |
| 37       | TOTAL                   | 851                                  |

*   data upto 30.11.2023

## Annexure-II

## State/UT-wise functional FTSCs including e-POCSO courts along with cumulative disposal and pendency of FTSCs as on 31.12.2023

|        |                  | Functional Courts        | Functional Courts   | Cumulative                                 |                     |
|--------|------------------|--------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| Sl.No. | State/UT         | FTSCs including e- POCSO | e-POCSO             | Disposal since the inception of the Scheme | Cumulative Pendency |
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh   | 16                       | 16                  | 4083                                       | 7231                |
| 2      | Assam            | 17                       | 17                  | 4979                                       | 5207                |
| 3      | Bihar            | 46                       | 46                  | 9939                                       | 17716               |
| 4      | Chandigarh       | 1                        | 0                   | 244                                        | 203                 |
| 5      | Chhattisgarh     | 15                       | 11                  | 4377                                       | 2264                |
| 6      | Delhi            | 16                       | 11                  | 1503                                       | 3810                |
| 7      | Goa              | 1                        | 0                   | 44                                         | 156                 |
| 8      | Gujarat          | 35                       | 24                  | 10295                                      | 6338                |
| 9      | Haryana          | 16                       | 12                  | 5342                                       | 4199                |
| 10     | Himachal Pradesh | 6                        | 3                   | 1282                                       | 834                 |
| 11     | J&K              | 4                        | 2                   | 151                                        | 453                 |
| 12     | Jharkhand        | 22                       | 16                  | 5822                                       | 4486                |
| 13     | Karnataka        | 31                       | 17                  | 8897                                       | 5414                |
| 14     | Kerala           | 54                       | 14                  | 16878                                      | 7401                |
| 15     | Madhya Pradesh   | 67                       | 57                  | 23613                                      | 10193               |
| 16     | Maharashtra      | 19                       | 10                  | 16907                                      | 4355                |
| 17     | Manipur          | 2                        | 0                   | 127                                        | 94                  |
| 18     | Meghalaya        | 5                        | 5                   | 382                                        | 1061                |
| 19     | Mizoram          | 3                        | 1                   | 169                                        | 89                  |
| 20     | Nagaland         | 1                        | 0                   | 57                                         | 51                  |
| 21     | Odisha           | 44                       | 23                  | 11960                                      | 11060               |
| 22     | Puducherry       | 1                        | 1                   | 44                                         | 221                 |
| 23     | Punjab           | 12                       | 3                   | 3565                                       | 1438                |
| 24     | Rajasthan        | 45                       | 30                  | 13003                                      | 6122                |
| 25     | Tamil Nadu       | 14                       | 14                  | 6228                                       | 4440                |
| 26     | Telangana        | 36                       | 0                   | 7799                                       | 8463                |
| 27     | Tripura          | 3                        | 1                   | 349                                        | 242                 |
| 28     | Uttarakhand      | 4                        | 0                   | 1355                                       | 908                 |
| 29     | Uttar Pradesh    | 218                      | 74                  | 55021                                      | 84778               |
| 30     | West Bengal      | 3                        | 3                   | 48                                         | 2948                |
|        | TOTAL            | 757                      | 411                 | 214463                                     | 202175              |