Fast Track Special Courts

Fast Track Special Courts have emerged as an important pillar in providing speedy justice by addressing backlogs in the Justice delivery system in India with 85,595 cases being resolved out of the 88,902 new cases being instituted in 2024.

About Fast Track Special Courts

• The Fast Track Special Courts Scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) which aims to support State Governments in establishing Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country.
• Introduced: Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including exclusive POCSO Courts, were established nationwide for expeditious disposal of Rape and POCSO Act cases in October, 2019, following the enactment of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 and the order of Hon’ble Supreme Court in a Suo Motu Writ Petition in 2019.
• Nodal Ministry: The FTSCs are managed by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice.
• Objective: The FTSC Scheme was introduced to conduct timely investigations and trials and expeditious disposal of rape and POCSO Act cases reaffirming government’s commitment to justice, women’s safety, and reducing the trauma faced by survivors of sexual crimes.
• Features: 
  • Timeline: The FTSCs  Scheme has been extended till March 31, 2026 with the total financial outlay for this period being  ₹1952.23 crore
  • Establishment of Courts: A total of 790 FTSCs, including exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) courts, are to be set up under the scheme.
  • Disposal Targets: Each FTSC is expected to dispose of 41-42 cases per quarter and at least 165 cases annually to ensure timely justice and case backlog reduction
  • Member Staff: Each court comprises 1 Judicial Officer and 7 Staff Members.
  • Authority: The FTSC are set up by the State Govt. in consultation with their respective High Courts as per their need and resources.
  • Nature of Cases: FTSC are exclusively mandated to handle pending cases of Rape and POCSO Act and no other cases of crime against women and children should be transferred to these courts.
  • Financing Mechanism: The scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and is funded both by the state and central government.
    • The Centre’s Share is (₹1207.24 crore) and is funded through the Nirbhaya Fund.
    • Cost Sharing: The funding Ratio is 60:40 for the Central Government and  State/UT Governments. 
      • 90:10: For Northeastern States, Sikkim, and the hilly States of J&K (now a Union Territory), Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the ratio is 90:10.
    • Reimbursement Mode: The Scheme operates on a reimbursement basis, where funds are released only after the submission of an Expenditure Statement by the respective State/UT Governments
• Need for Fast Track Special Courts:
  • Fast Track Special Courts serves as an essential tool to speed up the case clearance, reduce procedural delays, and provide timely justice to the aggrieved.
  • Reduce Backlog: FTsCs are instrumental in reducing the huge backlog of cases at all levels of the judiciary system by prioritizing pending cases and unresolved legal matters.
  • Expedite Trials: FTCs accelerate the trial process by ensuring regular and speedy evidence depositions and judgment delivery process so that cases are resolved in reasonable time.
  • Improve Judicial Efficiency: FTSCs render judicial system more efficient through improving the  workload management through allocation of resources, simplicity of process, and use of technology.

Achievements of the Scheme

• Case Resolution: Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) have a high disposal rate of 96.28% with collective disposal of over 3,06,604 cases to date.
  • FY 2024:  88,902 new cases were instituted and 85,595 cases were resolved
• Wider Reach: Currently, 745 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including 404 exclusive POCSO Courts, are operational across 30 States and UTs providing timely justice, even in areas that are geographically far-flung and difficult to access.
• Child Friendly: 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.

Challenges Facing the Scheme

• Inadequate Infrastructure: Many fast track special courts suffer from inadequate infrastructure and are often housed in existing court buildings leading  to overcrowding and inefficiency.
• Insufficient Staff: The judicial officers are often tasked with handling cases outside of their designated responsibilities. In addition, the shortage of support staff in some fast track special courts hampers their ability to process cases quickly.
• Resource Limitations: The number of functional courts has dropped to 832 in2023 from 907 by 2020 reflecting the challenges States face in maintaining these courts due to financial and administrative constraints
  • Example: States such as Odisha, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, either had no functional fast-track courts or were struggling to establish them in 2023.
• Vacancies and Lack of Specialized Training: Vacancies in judicial positions and lack of adequate training for judicial officers and staff have impacted the functioning of FTSCs resulting in delays and inefficiencies in the judicial process. 
• Limited Jurisdiction: The limited scope of fast-track courts ie. not beyond sexual offences has limited their ability to address related cases or transfer them to appropriate courts leading to further delays and complications in the justice delivery system.
• Inefficient Investigations:  The low conviction rate ie. out of the 2,68,038 cases under trial, only 8,909 resulted in convictions suggests that there are issues with the quality of investigations and judicial processes.

Key Recommendations: Here are some recommendations from a third-party evaluation of the Scheme being carried out by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) as under,

• IIPA strongly recommended the continuation of this scheme beyond its desired time period.
• Strengthening of Parameters: States and High Courts need to strengthen parameters, including appointing Special Judges experienced in POCSO cases, ensuring sensitization training, and appointing female public prosecutors for quick resolution of cases.
• Court Infrastructure: The courtrooms need to be upgraded with modern technology, such as audio and video recording systems and LCD projectors, introduce IT systems including electronic case filing and digitalization of court records.
• Invest in Cutting-Edge Forensic Services. Forensics Labs needs to be multiplied to train manpower to expedite the pending cases in courts and ensure timely submission of DNA Reports to give a fair and speedy justice.
• Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centers (VWDCs): It should be established in all districts to facilitate a better process of recording victim testimonies, thereby initiating a smoother court proceeding.
• Maintain Child Friendly Environment: The trials should be conducted in a child-friendly manner, behind closed doors without disclosing the child’s identity. Further, every FTSC should have a child psychologist to assist the child with rigorous pre-trial and trial procedures