Government to set up 1023 special fast-track courts for rape, POSCO cas

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The Union government has put forth a proposal to set up a sum of 1,023 fast-track special courts for the trial of over 1.66 lakh pending cases of crime against women and children across the country.

According to the proposal by the Department of Justice under the Union Law Ministry, these special courts are expected to dispose of at least 165 such case per year.The proposal note said that a total of 1,66,882 cases of rape and those under POCSO Act remains unsolved in various courts across the country.

The 1,023 fast-track-special-courts will be set up, out of which 389 courts, as per the order of the Supreme Court, will exclusively handle cases registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the proposal said.

The remaining 634 of the special courts will deal with either rape cases or both rape and POCSO Act cases depending upon the number of pending cases and requirement. "Each FTSC is expected to dispose of 41-42 cases each quarter and at least 165 cases in a year," the proposal further added.

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There are 389 districts in the country where there are more than 100 pending cases under the POCSO Act. Therefore, as per the apex court's orders, each of such districts will have one exclusive POCSO court, which will try no other cases, the note further said.

The process of setting up of these special courts is likely to begin on October 2, the Law Ministry had earlier announced. The Department of Justice had reportedly proposed to set up 1,023 fast-track courts at a budget of Rs 767.25 crore. The Central government is said to be providing support of Rs 474 crore for one year that will be funded from the Nirbhaya Fund.

The fund was created by the UPA government in 2013 after the December 16, 2012 gang-rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in Delhi. It was said to have been created to support the initiatives of governments and NGOs working towards the safety of women.

In a letter to the Cabinet Secretariat on August 8, the Department of Justice had said after the recommendation of the expenditure finance committee on July 11 and approval of the law minister, the proposal has been forwarded to the finance minister for approval, PTI reported. "Simultaneously, other connected actions are being taken as setting up of FTSCs is planned to start from 02nd October, 2019," the department wrote regarding the proposal.

With inputs from PTI

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