1023 Fast Track Special Courts Being Set Up: Law Minister In Rajya Sabha

Expressing concern over the pendency of cases in courts, Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday, informed that the 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) are being set up for providing speedy justice to victims of heinous crimes.

The Minister of Law and Justice, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said "Setting up of FTC and allocation of funds 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."

He said that the setting up of 1800 FTCs was recommended by the 14th Finance Commission during 2015-2020.

"The 14th Finance Commission (FC) had recommended the setting up of a total of 1800 FTCs during 2015-2020 for the trial of specific cases of heinous nature, civil cases related to women, children, senior citizens, disabled, 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 Ministry of Law and Justice informed in a press release.

The Union Minister informed that the Department of Justice is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs)

"The Union Government has also urged the State Governments to allocate funds for the setting up of FTC, from the financial year 2015-16 onward. Further, in pursuance to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Department of Justice is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) since October 2019 to provide speedy justice to the victims of rape and POCSO Act. The FTSC scheme which was initially for 1 year, has been continued up to 31st March 2023 at a total outlay of Rs 1572.86 Cr. with Rs 971.70 crore as Central Share to be funded under Nirbhaya Fund. As on October 31, 733 FTSCs are functional in 28 States/UTs," he said.

The Union Minister informed that a planning scheme for Action Research and Studies on Judicial Reforms has been implemented by the Department of Justice under the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms since 2013.

"Under the Scheme, financial assistance is being extended for undertaking action research/evaluation/monitoring studies, organizing seminars/conferences/workshops, capacity building for research and monitoring activities, publication of report/material, promotion of innovative programmes/activities in the areas of Justice Delivery, Legal Research and Judicial Reforms," he said.

He further said that under this scheme, a study on "Evaluation of Functioning of Fast Track Courts in India" was conducted by National Law University, Delhi.

"As per the findings of the study, the establishment of FTCs was not accompanied by special infrastructure, special administration, and a separate cadre of staff or relaxation of the procedure. Therefore, their work is no different from regular courts and they face the same structural difficulties as regular courts. The lack of adequate support has caused overburdening of the FTCs. The following recommendations were made to improve the efficiency which has been brought to the knowledge of the concerned State Governments and High Courts," he said.

The Union Law and Justice Minister also gave several suggestions to the states regarding the setting up of Fast Track Courts.

As per the release, the suggestions included the appointment of more experienced Judges in the FTCs, and the need for specific recommendations of the National Court Management System which are applicable to Fast Track Courts.

He suggested that the judges put case-specific time frames for deciding cases in FTCs as suggested by the 245th report of the Law Commission of India, monthly meetings at the district level of all judicial officers in FTCs to monitor their progress and ensuring day-to-day hearings in a fast-track proceeding, and providing a safe and comfortable environment to victims especially women and children in all FTCs in the country by using modern technology like videoconferencing/videography.

He also suggested that the Judges be provided with proper and updated modern facilities like computers, technical staff and internet, incentives be given to judges for the disposal of cases which are pending for more than 5 years, and vulnerable Witness Deposition Complexes (such as those established in Delhi) to be set up in other districts as well, the release further stated.

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