New Delhi: There are 389 districts in the country where the number of pending child abuse cases exceeds 100 and as per a Law Ministry proposal, one fast track special court will be set up in each of these districts to exclusively try such cases. According to a Law Ministry document, “Scheme on Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for expeditious disposal of cases of rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act”, there are 389 districts in the country where the number of pending cases under the POCSO Act exceeds 100. “Therefore, as per the order of Apex (Supreme) Court, in each of these districts, one exclusive POCSO court will be set up which will try no other case,” it said. Depending upon the pendency of POCSO cases, the state or the Union territory governments, in consultation with the high courts concerned, could, however, decide if more number of exclusive POCSO courts need to be established within the overall number of FTSCs provided under this scheme. The Union government has proposed to set up a total of 1,023 fast-track special courts for expeditious trial of over 1.66 lakh pending cases of crime against women and children across the country. (PTI)
