Central Government Extends Fast Track Special Courts Scheme Until 2026 with Rs. 1952.23 Crore Allocation

Pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including exclusive POCSO Courts since October, 2019 for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases pertaining to Rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, in a time-bound manner.

The Scheme was initially implemented for one year, which was extended upto March, 2023. The Scheme has now been extended till 31.03.2026, at an outlay of Rs. 1952.23 cr. with Rs. 1207.24 cr. as Central Share to be incurred from Nirbhaya Fund. The funds are released on CSS pattern (60:40, 90:10) to cover the salaries of 1 Judicial Officer along with 7 support Staff and a Flexi Grant for meeting the day-to-day expenses. Under the FTSCs Scheme, funds are released to the States/UTs on a reimbursement basis, determined by the number of functional courts in State/UT concerned. Since the inception of the scheme, year-wise funds allocated and released by the Central Government under FTSCs Scheme are as below:

(Rs. in crore)

As per the information received from the High Courts up to May, 2024, 755 FTSCs including 410 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across the country, which have disposed of over 2,53,000 cases. The State-wise details of number of functional Fast Track Special Courts along with the number of cases disposed of as on 31.05.2024 is at Annexure.

Annexure

State/UT-wise details of number of functional Fast Track Special Courts along with the number of cases disposed as of May, 2024