Fast Track Courts

Fast Track Courts

News: The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Fast Track Special Courts as a centrally sponsored scheme from April 4, 2023, to March 31, 2026.

Background:
• The scheme reflects the nation’s commitment to ending sexual and gender-based violence; substantially reduce pending cases of rape and POCSO Act, relieving the burden on the judicial system.

What are Fast Track Courts?
• Fast Track Courts (FTCs) are courts that have been set up to operate at a pace quicker than the rest of the judicial system, usually to resolve crimes of a grave nature or long-standing issues. They are officially known as Fast-Track Special Courts (FTSCs) or simply Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in the Indian context.
• The setting up of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) and its functioning lies within the domain of State Governments in consultation with the respective High Courts.
• The 14th Finance Commission had recommended the setting up of 1800 FTCs during 2015-20 dealing with cases of heinous crimes; civil cases related to women, children, senior citizens, HIV/AIDS etc. and property related cases pending for more than 5 years.
• As of July 2023, 855 FTCs are functional across the country.

What are the advantages of FTCs?
• It promotes specialization and professionalization as it has helped employ thousands of people from different fields, it also avails retired judges from high courts and district courts.
• It has reduced the general caseload burden of Indian judiciary and courts.
• By the proper use of judiciary and by speedy trial and judgment, fast track courts boost the efficiency of the judiciary.
• Fast Track courts in India have the highest case disposal rate due to its speedy trial and judgment. And hence it is efficient in solving cases in a time bound manner.

Criticism faced by FTCs:
• Lack of Special Training: Judges in FTCs often lack special training, which can impact the quality of judgments.
• Lack of Victim Support Services: FTCs often lack adequate victim support services.
• Lack of Regular Monitoring and Performance Evaluation: There is often a lack of regular monitoring and performance evaluation of FTCs.
• Lack of Legislative Backing: FTCs were not constituted statutorily but through a government order, which can lead to legal complications.
• Higher Chance of Witnesses Turning Hostile: Since the trial is conducted in one single session, there is a higher chance of witnesses turning hostile.
• Logistical Issues: FTCs often suffer from numerous logistical issues, including gaps in technology that prevent the courts from hearing from victims and shortages of staff and judges.
• Adhocism: Setting up of FTCs was not based on actual problems of pendency, but was often in response to specific incidents such as securities scams, rape cases and sexual harassment of children.
• Systemic Issues: While large sums of money and attention are being devoted to creating additional posts, little is being done to identify and address the prevalent systemic issues.
• Variation in Case Allocation: There is a huge variation in the kinds of cases handled by these courts across States.