Ministry of Law and Justice
azadi ka amrit mahotsav

Scheme of Fast Track Special Courts

Posted On: 08 AUG 2025 2:36PM by PIB Delhi

A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the establishment of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) Courts came to be introduced in October, 2019, following the enactment of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 and the order of Hon’ble Supreme Court [Suo Motu Writ (Criminal) No. 1/2019]. These courts are dedicated to the time-bound trial and disposal of pending cases related to rape and crimes under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The Scheme has been extended twice, with the latest extension up to 31st March 2026, for establishment of 790 courts. The financial outlay under the scheme is ₹ 1952.23 crore with ₹ 1207.24 crore as Central Share to be incurred from Nirbhaya Fund on the CSS pattern.

As of 30.06.2025, 725 FTSCs, including 392 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts are functional in 29 States/UTs, which have disposed of 3,34,213 cases since the inception of the Scheme. The State/UT-wise details of functional Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) along with the number of cases disposed since the inception of the Scheme are at Annexure-I. 

As per the inputs received from the High Courts, the disposal rate of Rape and POCSO Act cases in Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) appears to be significantly higher than in regular courts. While the average disposal rate of Rape and POCSO Act cases in regular courts is estimated at 3.26 cases per court per month, FTSCs achieve an average of 9.51 cases per court per month. This suggests an enhanced efficiency in case disposal through FTSCs.

Following the Nirbhaya case of 16th December, 2012, the Government has set up a dedicated fund – Nirbhaya Fund – which can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women. It is a non-lapsable corpus fund, being administered by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (M/o WCD) is the nodal Ministry to appraise/recommend proposals and Schemes to be funded under Nirbhaya Fund. M/o WCD further has the responsibility to review and monitor the progress of sanctioned schemes in conjunction with the Line Ministries/Departments.

The FTSCs have been set up and operationalized under the Nirbhaya Fund. The Department has released a sum of ₹ 1034.55 Crore to the States/UTs since its inception to ensure the smooth functioning of the courts. The funds are released on CSS Pattern (Central share: State share :: 60:40, 90:10) to cover the salaries of one Judicial Officer along with 7 support Staff and a Flexi Grant for meeting the day-to-day expenses. The funds are released to the States/UTs on a reimbursement basis, determined by the number of functional Courts in the State/UT concerned. 

Annexure-I

State/UT-wise details of functional Fast Track Special Courts including exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) Courts along with the cumulative disposal since the inception of the Scheme (as on 30.06.2025)

 

Sl. No.

State/UT

Functional Courts

Cumulative Disposal since the inception of the Scheme

 

FTSCs including ePOCSO

ePOCSO

FTSCs

ePOCSO

Total

 
 

1

Andhra Pradesh

16

16

0

7487

7487

 

2

Assam

17

17

0

8943

8943

 

3

Bihar

46

46

0

17232

17232

 

4

Chandigarh

1

0

374

0

374

 

5

Chhattisgarh

15

11

1289

5139

6428

 

6

Delhi

16

11

760

1958

2718

 

7

Goa

1

0

82

34

116

 

8

Gujarat

35

24

3389

13227

16616

 

9

Haryana

18

14

2018

6069

8087

 

10

Himachal Pradesh

6

3

600

807

1407

 

11

J&K

4

2

144

167

311

 

12

Karnataka

30

17

5377

8654

14031

 

13

Kerala

55

14

18256

7946

26202

 

14

Madhya Pradesh

67

56

4920

27193

32113

 

15

Maharashtra

2

1

8727

12017

20744

 

16

Manipur

2

0

194

0

194

 

17

Meghalaya

5

5

0

733

733

 

18

Mizoram

3

1

199

70

269

 

19

Nagaland

1

0

65

3

68

 

20

Odisha

44

23

7218

13036

20254

 

21

Puducherry

1

1

0

162

162

 

22

Punjab

12

3

2785

2480

5265

 

23

Rajasthan

45

30

5830

13602

19432

 

24

Tamil Nadu

14

14

0

10199

10199

 

25

Telangana

36

0

8648

2731

11379

 

26

Tripura

3

1

252

237

489

 

27

Uttarakhand

4

0

1930

0

1930

 

28

Uttar Pradesh

218

74

43558

47901

91459

 

29

West Bengal

8

8

0

457

457

 

30

Jharkhand *

0

0

2777

6337

9114

 

31

A&N Islands**

0

0

0

0

0

 

32

Arunachal Pradesh***

0

0

0

0

0

 

 

TOTAL

725

392

119392

214821

334213

 

Note: At the inception of the Scheme, the allocation of FTSCs across the country was based on a criterion of 65 to 165 pending cases per court, meaning one FTSC would be established for every 65 to 165 pending cases. Based on that, only 31 States/UTs were eligible to join the Scheme.

* The State of Jharkhand has decided to exit the FTSC Scheme vide letter dated 07.07.2025. However, the cumulative disposal of 9,114 cases since the inception of the Scheme up to May 2025 continues to be included in the overall disposal figures reported under the FTSC Scheme.

**A&N islands has consented to join the Scheme, but is yet to operationalize any court.

***Arunachal Pradesh has opted out of the Scheme citing a very low number of pending cases of Rape and POCSO Act.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of
Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

****

Samrat / Allen


(Release ID: 2154077)
Read this release in: Urdu , Hindi , Tamil