Lok Sabha Question No. 169 (STARRED), answered on 2024-08-02
Subject: Courts for Women
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Shri Arun Kumar Sagar

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

## LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. *169 ANSWERED ON - 02/08/2024

## COURTS FOR WOMEN

## *169 . SHRI ARUN KUMAR SAGAR:

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

- (a) the  number  of  women  courts  set  up  to  dispose  the  cases  related  with atrocities on women till date in the country, State/location-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  establish  the  said  courts  in several other States; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

- (a) to (c) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *169 FOR THE 02 nd AUGUST, 2024 REGARDING 'COURTS FOR WOMEN'

- (a) For  disposal  of  cases  related  to  atrocities  on  women  in  the  country,  several special courts have been established. The details of such courts are as follows:
- i. As  per  the  recommendations  of  the  Fourteenth  Finance  Commission  (20152020), Fast Track Courts (FTCs) have been established for dealing with cases of heinous crimes, cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc. The FTCs are  set  up  by  the  State/UT  Governments  in  consultation  with  their  respective High Court, as per their needs and resources.  As of 31.05.2024, 866 Fast Track Courts  are  functional  for  trial  of  heinous  crimes,  crimes  against  women,  and children etc. The State/UT-wise list of FTCs are at Annexure-I .
- ii. Further, to provide for stringent provisions and expeditious trial and disposal of cases involving incidents of rape and gang rape of minor girls and women, the Central Government enacted 'The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018' that led  to  the  setting  up  of  the  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs).  A  Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  viz.Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs)  Scheme  has  been implemented  by  the  Government  since  October,  2019  for  the  expeditious disposal  of  pending  cases  of  Rape  under  the  erstwhile  Indian  Penal  Code (present  Bharatiya  Nyaya  Sanhita,  2023)  and  crimes  under  Protection  of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012. As on 31.05.2024, a total of  755  FTSCs  including  410  exclusive  POCSO  Courts  are  functional  in  30 States/UTs across the country which have disposed of over 2,53,000 cases. The Scheme  was  initially  implemented  for  one  year,  which  was  extended  upto March, 2023.  The Scheme has now been extended till 31.03.2026, at an outlay of  Rs.  1952.23  cr.  with  Rs.  1207.24  cr.  as  Central  Share  to  be  incurred  from Nirbhaya Fund. As per the Financial Outlay approved, the recommended total cost  per  FTSC  per  year  for  the  FY  2024-25  is  ₹  82.31  Lakh.  The  funds  are released on CSS pattern (Central share : State share, 60:40, 90:10) to cover the

salaries of  1  Judicial  Officer  along with 7 support  Staff  and a  Flexi Grant  for meeting the day-to-day expenses.

The  establishment  of  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  demonstrates  the  unwavering commitment of the Government towards women security, combating sexual and gender-based violence, reducing the backlog of pending cases related to Rape & POCSO Act, and providing enhanced access to justice for survivors of sexual crimes. With professional and experienced judges and support staff specialized in  handling  sensitive  sexual  offence  cases,  these  courts  ensure  consistent  and expert-guided  legal  proceedings  offering  victims  of  sexual  offences  swift resolution  in  mitigating  the  trauma  and  distress,  and  enabling  them  to  move forward in life. Fast Track Special Courts have notably adopted the approach of setting up Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres within the courts to facilitate trial  of  the  victims  and  to  make  the  courts  into  Child-Friendly  Courts  for providing crucial support for a compassionate legal system. The State/UT-wise list of FTSCs are at Annexure-II .

- iii. Empowerment and protection of women and children who constitute 67.7% of India's  population  and  ensuring  their  wholesome  development  in  a  safe  and secure environment is crucial for sustainable and equitable development of the country and for achieving transformational economic and social changes,  The Government of India strives to ensure well-nourished and happy children and confident, self-reliant women by providing them with an environment which is accessible,  affordable,  reliable  and  free  from  all  forms  of  discrimination  and violence.  To  achieve  the  above  objectives,  the  Government  of  India  has approved  3  key  Umbrella  Schemes  of  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child Development  to  be  implemented  in  mission  mode,  viz.,  Mission  Poshan  2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya.

Mission Shakti envisages a unified citizen-centric lifecycle support for women through integrated care,  safety,  protection,  rehabilitation  and  empowerment  to unshackle women as they progress through various stages of their life. Mission

Shakti  has  two  sub-schemes  'Sambal'  and  'Samarthya'.  While  the  'Sambal' sub-scheme is for safety and security of women, the 'Samarthya' sub-scheme is for empowerment of women. One of the components included in Sambal subscheme  is  ' Nari  Adalat '  which  aims  to  provide  women  with  an  alternate Grievance Redressal Mechanism for resolving cases of petty nature (harassment, subversion,  curtailment  of  rights  or  entitlements)  faced  by  them  at  Gram panchayat level. The major function of the 'Nari Adalat' is to raise awareness about legal rights and entitlements of women. The component of 'Nari Adalat' is being implemented in a phased manner. Assam and Jammu & Kashmir have been  selected  to  implement  the  new  component  of  'Nari  Adalat'  on  a  pilot basis.

Jammu & Kashmir has chosen 2 districts, viz., Kupwara and Baramulla covering 50  Gram  Panchayats  with  9  members  in  each  panchayat  in  the  initial  phase during  the  year  2023-24.  The  State  Government  of  Assam  has  selected  11 districts covering 50Gram panchayats with 7 members in each panchayat in the initial phase during the year 2023-24.

The details of districts chosen by Assam and Jammu & Kashmir are as under:

|   Sl. No. | Jammu &Kashmir   | Assam         |
|-----------|------------------|---------------|
|         1 | Kupwara          | Nalbari       |
|         2 | Baramulla        | Darrang       |
|         3 |                  | Morigaon      |
|         4 |                  | Dhubri        |
|         5 |                  | Udalguri      |
|         6 |                  | South Salmara |
|         7 |                  | Goalpara      |
|         8 |                  | Kamrup        |
|         9 |                  | Barpeta       |
|        10 |                  | Tamulpur      |
|        11 |                  | Baksa         |

In respect of Jammu & Kashmir, funds to the tune of Rs. 21.60 Lakhs and for Assam funds to the tune of Rs.20.80 Lakhs were released during the Financial Year 2023-24.

(b) & (c): At  present,  no  proposal  is  pending  with  the  Government  of  India  for establishment of 'Nari Adalats' in other States/UTs.

*****

## Annexure-I

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART(A) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *169 FOR ANSWER ON 02.08.2024 REGARDING 'COURTS FOR WOMEN'.

## STATUS OF STATE/UT-WISE FAST TRACK COURTS (AS ON 31.05.2024)

| Sl. No.   | State/UT                                     | Number of Functional Fast Track Courts (FTCs)   |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 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                                        | 25                                              |
| 10        | Diu &Daman                                   | 0                                               |
| 11        | Goa                                          | 6                                               |
| 12        | Gujarat                                      | 54                                              |
| 13        | Haryana*                                     | 6                                               |
| 14        | Himachal Pradesh                             | 3                                               |
| 15        | Jammu &Kashmir                               | 8                                               |
| 16        | Jharkhand                                    | 39                                              |
| 17        | Karnataka                                    | 0                                               |
| 18        | Kerala                                       | 0                                               |
| 19        | Ladakh                                       | 0                                               |
| 20        | Lakshadweep                                  | 0                                               |
| 21        | Madhya Pradesh                               | 0                                               |
| 22        | Maharashtra                                  | 104                                             |
| 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                                       | 7                                               |
| 32        | Tamil Nadu                                   | 72                                              |
| 33        | Telangana                                    | 0                                               |
| 34        | Tripura                                      | 3                                               |
| 35        | Uttar Pradesh                                | 372                                             |
| 36        | Uttarakhand                                  | 4                                               |
| 37        | West Bengal                                  | 88                                              |
|           | *Data available till the month of April'2024 | *Data available till the month of April'2024    |

Annexure-II STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART(A) OF LOK SABHA 02.08.2024

STARRED QUESTION NO. *169 FOR ANSWER ON REGARDING 'COURTS FOR WOMEN'.

STATE/UT-WISE STATUS OF FAST TRACK SPECIAL COURTS (AS ON 31.05.2024)

| Sl. No.   | State/UT         |   Number of FunctionalFast Track Special Courts including exclusive POCSO Courts |   Number of FunctionalExclusive POCSO Courts |
|-----------|------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh   |                                                                               16 |                                           16 |
| 2         | Assam            |                                                                               17 |                                           17 |
| 3         | Bihar            |                                                                               46 |                                           46 |
| 4         | Chandigarh       |                                                                                1 |                                            0 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh     |                                                                               15 |                                           11 |
| 6         | Delhi            |                                                                               16 |                                           11 |
| 7         | Goa              |                                                                                1 |                                            0 |
| 8         | Gujarat          |                                                                               35 |                                           24 |
| 9         | Haryana          |                                                                               16 |                                           12 |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh |                                                                                6 |                                            3 |
| 11        | J&K              |                                                                                4 |                                            2 |
| 12        | Jharkhand        |                                                                               22 |                                           16 |
| 13        | Karnataka        |                                                                               31 |                                           17 |
| 14        | Kerala           |                                                                               55 |                                           14 |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh   |                                                                               67 |                                           57 |
| 16        | Maharashtra      |                                                                               14 |                                            7 |
| 17        | Manipur          |                                                                                2 |                                            0 |
| 18        | Meghalaya        |                                                                                5 |                                            5 |
| 19        | Mizoram          |                                                                                3 |                                            1 |
| 20        | Nagaland         |                                                                                1 |                                            0 |
| 21        | Odisha           |                                                                               44 |                                           23 |
| 22        | Puducherry       |                                                                                1 |                                            1 |
| 23        | Punjab           |                                                                               12 |                                            3 |
| 24        | Rajasthan        |                                                                               45 |                                           30 |
| 25        | Tamil Nadu       |                                                                               14 |                                           14 |
| 26        | Telangana        |                                                                               36 |                                            0 |
| 27        | Tripura          |                                                                                3 |                                            1 |
| 28        | Uttarakhand      |                                                                                4 |                                            0 |
| 29        | Uttar Pradesh    |                                                                              218 |                                           74 |
| 30        | West Bengal      |                                                                                5 |                                            5 |
|           | TOTAL            |                                                                              755 |                                          410 |