New Delhi: Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha that 12 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) have been set up in Andhra Pradesh to clear the cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

On being asked about the number of Special Fast Track Courts (FTCs) set up in the country and whether efforts were being made to further improve their performance in the country, responding to a query from V Vijayasai Reddy, YSRCP MP, the law minister in his written response said, in October 2019, the government started a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for expeditious trial and disposal of cases related to rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the country. He informed the Upper House members that currently 728 Fast Track Special Courts are functioning in the country.

Giving more details, the minister said that though it was earlier stipulated that the tenure of FTSCs should be restricted to one year only, it has now been decided to continue these till March 31, 2023. He said an estimated Rs 1,572 crore will be spent on setting up of fast track special courts while adding the central government’s share will be Rs 971 crore and the amount will be released from the Nirbhaya funds.

Sharing information on the performance of FTSCs in the country, the Union Law Minister Rijiju informed by the end of June this year, more than one lakh cases have been disposed by these Fast Track Special Courts across the country. According to the report of the National Productivity Council, which evaluated the performance of FTSCs, conviction rate for POCSO cases in these courts touches 17.64%.

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