755 Fast Track Special Courts including 410 exclusive POCSO Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country
755 Fast Track Special Courts including 410 exclusive POCSO Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country
Pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including exclusive POCSO Courts since October, 2019 for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases pertaining to Rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, in a time-bound manner.
The Scheme was initially implemented for one year, which was extended up to 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. The funds are released on CSS pattern (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.
As per the information received from the High Courts up to May, 2024, 755 FTSCs including 410 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country, which have disposed of over 2,53,000 cases. The State-wise details of number of functional Fast Track Special Courts along with the number of cases disposed of as on 31.05.2024 is placed at Annexure.
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 offense 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. Fast Track Special Courts have notably adopted the approach of setting up Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centers within the courts to facilitate the victims and to make the courts into Child-Friendly Courts for providing crucial support for a compassionate legal system.
State/UT-wise details of number of functional Fast Track Special Courts along with the number of cases disposed as of May, 2024
S.NO.
State/UT
Functional Courts
Cumulative Disposal since the inception of the Scheme
FTSCs including exclusive POCSO
exclusive POCSO
FTSCs
exclusive POCSO
Total
1
Andhra Pradesh
16
16
0
4899
4899
2
Assam
17
17
0
5893
5893
3
Bihar
46
46
0
11798
11798
4
Chandigarh
1
0
265
0
265
5
Chhattisgarh
15
11
924
4044
4968
6
Delhi
16
11
555
1262
1817
7
Goa
1
0
32
34
66
8
Gujarat
35
24
2263
9793
12056
9
Haryana
16
12
1572
4675
6247
10
Himachal Pradesh
6
3
416
1126
1542
11
J&K
4
2
91
101
192
12
Jharkhand
22
16
2279
4537
6816
13
Karnataka
31
17
3740
6657
10397
14
Kerala
55
14
13530
6123
19653
15
Madhya Pradesh
67
57
3894
22456
26350
16
Maharashtra
14
7
7258
11530
18788
17
Manipur
2
0
146
0
146
18
Meghalaya
5
5
0
462
462
19
Mizoram
3
1
148
55
203
20
Nagaland
1
0
61
3
64
21
Odisha
44
23
4992
9521
14513
22
Puducherry*
1
1
0
83
83
23
Punjab
12
3
2055
2061
4116
24
Rajasthan
45
30
4502
10138
14640
25
Tamil Nadu
14
14
0
7225
7225
26
Telangana
36
0
5993
2731
8724
27
Tripura
3
1
203
186
389
28
Uttarakhand
4
0
1614
0
1614
29
Uttar Pradesh
218
74
34091
34998
69089
30
West Bengal
5
5
0
106
106
TOTAL
755
410
90624
162497
253121
*Puducherry specially requested to join the Scheme and has since operationalized one exclusive POCSO Court in May 2023.
This information was given by the 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 in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.