Pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts 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.
The scheme was initially for one year, which was further extended up to March, 2023. The Union Cabinet has extended the Scheme for another three years, from 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2026, at a total outlay of Rs. 1952.23 cr. including Rs. 1207.24 cr. as Central Share to be incurred from Nirbhaya Fund.
As per data submitted by various High Courts, up to December 2023, 757 FTSCs including 411 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country which have disposed of more than 2,14,000 cases. State-wise details of the number of functional Fast Track Special Courts along with the number of cases disposed of as on 31.12.2023 is placed at Annexure-I.
Setting up 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 expeditious 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 resolutions 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 Centres 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. These courts have disposed of more than 2,14,000 cases as of December 31, 2023.
