Chandigarh court fastest in disposal of cases of rape, sexual offences against kids
With a disposal rate of 54.6%, the Fast Track Special Court (FTSC) of Chandigarh has topped the list of UTs in deciding cases of rape and sexual offences against children.
As per official data, a total of 447 cases were instituted since the inception of the fast track court in Chandigarh in 2019. Out of these, 265 cases were disposed of till December last year.
The latest data of the performance of the fast track special courts in India was shared in a report of the India Child Protection (ICP) Research team, which was prepared in association with Child Marriage Free India.
As per the report, the disposal rate of the Delhi FTSC was recorded at 28.3%, Jammu and Kashmir 25% and Puducherry 16.6%. Maharashtra (80%) and Punjab (71%) have recorded a high rate of disposal of cases, which is well above the national average of 52%.
As per the report, average 61 cases have been disposed of in the Chandigarh court annually since its inception. The data shows that a total of 447 cases were instituted since its inception and 265 of these cleared till December last year.
The FTSC court in Chandigarh has prepared an action plan for 2024- 2025 under which it has listed 100 cases for disposal during the year. The action plan is prepared to speed up the disposal.
Pursuant to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, the Central Government is setting up FTSCs all over India since October 2019 for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases pertaining to rape and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in a time-bound manner.
Bhuwan Ribhu, a child rights activist and founder of Child Marriage Free India, said, “India would need approximately 3 years to clear the existing backlog of 2,02,175 rape and POCSO cases at the level of FTSCs if no new case is added. The report recommends immediately making all 1,023 FTSCs functional and setting up 1,000 more such courts in the country.”
