FAST TRACK COURTS – A SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

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This Article is written by Shrey Singh of 2^nd Year of Maharaja Surajmal Institute, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

“Justice delayed is justice denied” the literal meaning is if justice is delayed then it is ineffective. Fast track courts (FTCs) were introduced in India with an objective to deliver speedy justice. Initially, a recommendation from the 11^th Finance Commission in 2000, later revived after the heinous incident of the Nirbhaya case, 2012. FTCs have become a significant part of the system where justice is called out. The main purpose of it was to deliver fast and reliever the congestions of courts, to prioritize the dealing with cases of heinous crimes; civil cases related to women, children, senior citizens, HIV/AIDS etc. This paper takes a systematic approach with the aim of providing the performance of FTCs, analyse whether they have met their goal or does it need to be fixed with an offer of such recommendations, a call for improvement. The paper seeks to answer a critical question: Are FTCs a success or a failure?

INTRODUCTION

More than two decades ago, the Central government came up with the decision of FTCs, to speed up the trials of heinous crimes; civil cases related to women, children, senior citizens, HIV/AIDS etc. while also aiming to relieve the judiciary from the backlogs of cases. As the central government released funds to build FTCs, across 30 states and Union territories have across 851 functional FTCs, while the original target was to establish, 1800 FTCs, we are still at lack of FTCs.[1]

The story about FTCs began in 2000, where the idea of FTCs varied a lot. In 2005, the FTCs were restored by the Finance Commission for the upkeep of 1562 existing FTCs for additional 5 years. During this period, the idea of FTCs expanded. The 188^th Law Commission suggested of the setup of fast-track commercial divisions at each High Courts to manage the business questions,[2] later in 2008 the idea sparked up again, perceiving the significance of FTCs in clearing the cheque bouncing cases, however it was criticised as to be the ad-hoc measure, a temporary fix.

However, by 2011, a shift occurred. The idea of FTCs started to be distinguished uniquely as a specially appointed system to manage the problem of the pendency of cases. The central government decided to stop the funding of FTCs, it was challenged at the time, in the case of Brij Mohan Lal v. Association of India. Supreme Court emphasized the constitutional mandate of speedy justice and criticised the ad-hoc nature of FTCs, they urged the government to create a permanent justice post rather than to plan on an ad-hoc or impermanent basis.

Following the Nirbhaya case in 2012, preferring upon the public opinion as well as the J. Verma’s committee for quick justice, setting up of FTC’s were likely an impetus.

According to current centre’s activity plan, the most optimised plan of the FTCs is to dispose 14 session trial cases and 20-25 civil or criminal cases per month as per the Department of Justice’s performance benchmarks. These plans are designed to reduce the backlogs and ensure timely justice.

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the Fast track courts, analyse the structure, functioning, and procedural aspects of Fast Track Courts. The impact of FTCs on the desired goal and its average disposal time of the backlog of cases. To identify if it has been successful in their goal or is there any limitations making it a failure of the system.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE FAST TRACK COURTS

In India, FTCs have been designed to function in hierarchical organizational structures to work in accordance with the existing judicial framework.

District Level: Situated at district level, these FTCs handle cases of the local courts. At district level, FTCs likely form different types of courts to take care of the different types of cases.

State level: Some FTCs are created at state level to deal with complicated cases or the cases which needs more of the attention to deal with. These FTCs operate at Sessions courts.

High Court Level: Some states have formed FTCs at the High court level to speed up the court’s process, to be responsible of the matters of constitutional importance.

In the wake of the December 2012, Nirbhaya Gangrape and Murder case, The Union Government established Fast track Mahila Courts and established “Nirbhaya Fund”. Following that more FTCs were established for rape cases in different states including, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar etc.

To ensure the speedy implementation of the cases while complying with the requirements of fairness and respect for the law, FTCs followed some mechanisms:

Case Prioritization: FTCs prioritized cases based on its urgency, severity and age, special attention would be given to the heinous offences to ensure quick resolution.
Fixed Timelines: As of any courts FTCs also have deadlines for completing procedures important throughout the legal process, like, filing the pleadings, presenting evidence, submitting the chargesheet etc.
Simplified Procedures: FTCs can use shortcuts related to mundane matters to simplify the procedures and to boost up the rate of cases progressed so far.
Continuous Hearings: Unlike regular courts FTCs schedules hearings or adjournments to avoid gaps in proceedings and to ensure swift trials.
Technological Integration: Some FTCs have adopted the digital path such as e-filing, virtual hearings.

Overall, the structure and functioning of Fast Track Courts in India reflect a proactive approach.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESS OF FTCs

Lofty Disposal Rate of Fast Track Special Courts

As of December 2023, according to Ministry of Law and Justice FTSCs have successfully disposed of more than 2,14,000 cases as of December 31, 2023. This reflects the impact of these courts in delivering speedy justice to survivors of sexual offences while also reducing the burden of the judiciary. At present, 757 FTSCs are functional across 30 states and Union Territories, including 411 exclusive POCSO courts. These courts have handled over almost 4.16 lakh cases, with a disposal rate of 52% overall.[3]

Additionally, if we talk about states alone such as Maharashtra, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, they recorded disposal rates exceeding 70%. However, disparities in states like West Bengal is falling behind, disparities remain by having 3 out of 123 sanctioned FTSCs.

Hence, the benefits of the establishment of FTCs are the measurable reduction is backlog of the cases, especially in cases involving women and children.

Certifies Proficiency and Efficiency

Through a high disposal rate and speedy rate in the delivery of justice, the Fast-Track Courts bestow the Indian judiciary with a high quality of competence and efficacy in their functioning.26 They help to promote a high level of efficiency and effectiveness in their functioning so that the delivery of timely justice can be ensured without compromising its quality.

CHALLENGES AND FAILURES OF FAST TRACK COURTS

While the FTCs have been renowned for reducing pendency and backlog of cases, their implementation has also faced some significant challenges. The uneven functioning of FTCs across the states, its lack of infrastructure and overburdening of judges have limited the effectiveness of these FTCs.

Shortage of courts and Infrastructure

Despite the recommendation of the Finance Commission to establish 1800 FTCs across India, only 757 FTCs were operational as of December 31, 2023, reflecting a shortfall of over 1000 courts.[4]

The disparity is stark in states like West Bengal, which had only 3 out 123 FTCs, as per the data submitted by the High courts to the Department of Justice. It highlights the regional imbalance in implementation despite central fundings. Inadequate courtroom infrastructure, with many operating in re-designated spaces lacking proper facilities. This shortage affects the speed of justice and backlogs the case increasing the issues of judiciary.

Vacancies and Overburdened Judges

A critical hurdle to the effective functioning of the FTCs may be the shortage of judicial officers, many FTCs are already staffed by the judges who are already overburdened with the regular court duties which dilutes the focus and efficiency of the FTCs adjudication. As of October 2023, according to the report of the Department of Justice, many FTCs lacks exclusive judges. The vacancy rate in lower courts has been remained similar throughout the year of 2022-2023 and if we put some focus on the specialization of the judges, most of them lacks specialised training in sensitive cases like those under the POCSO Act, affecting the quality and consistency of the judgements. These challenges lead to delays in the disposal of cases, defeating the very purpose of the FTCs and increases the pendency in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.[5]

Delays in Investigation and Trial Processes

Despite the intent behind FTCs for speedy justice, systematic delays persist due to the bottlenecks in the pretrial and trial stages. Investigation delays often suffer due to understaffing, lack of training and outdated methods used as a tradition, while also delays in filing FIRs, collecting evidence and submitting chargesheets remains inconsistent despite the BNSS, 2023, which mandates time bound investigations.

Non-availability of witnesses, especially in POCSO and rape cases, leads to frequent adjournments.

Without parallel reforms in policing and prosecutorial independence, FTCs risks because laying the groundwork maybe not an issue but implementation and coordination are the real tests.

RECOMMENDATION

Institutionalisation through legislation

FTCs must be backed by permanent statutes, which would clarify the types of cases FTCs can hear, ensure uniformity in the court setup, its staffing and infrastructure across the states and by ensuring tenure and continuity abrupt discontinuation will be prevented.

Appointment of dedicated and trained judges

FTCs must be staffed by full time judges who has specialization in handling sensitive cases like sexual offences and child abuse or like those in POCSO Act. Gender sensitization as well as child psychology training must be made mandatory in order to handle cases in the FTCs.

Coordination with the investigation and Prosecution

Fast track courts can’t function in isolation, they must be synchronised with the efforts of police, forensic experts, public prosecutors as well as judicial officers to prevent delays.

Uniform Policy implementation across States

The current FTC framework suffers from implementation, with wide disparities in areas like West Bengal and other states. A centralised model policy could help in standardising the court establishment criteria, case allocation and prioritization etc.

CONCLUSION

Fast track Courts (FTCs) were introduced with an intention to speed up the trials and for speedy justice, particularly for cases involving heinous crimes and vulnerable communities or groups. Over the past two decades FTCs has made commendable contribution in reducing the backlog of the cases, increasing the disposal rate of the cases as well as reinforcing the trust of the citizens in the justice.

However, the effectiveness of FTCs have been lacking due to challenges, like inadequate infrastructure, lack of specialized judges, overburdened judges, disparities at state level has been continued to hinder the process of the FTCs.

Delays in investigation and trial process has defeated the sole purpose of the Fast Track Courts (FTCs).

They have not failed, but neither have they succeeded for what they were established. It needs legislative backing to become an integral part of the judicial system. Thus, to answer the core question of this paper, Fast Track Courts has gained incomplete success, laying on the ground of ad-hoc measures.

REFERENCES

Pooja Mandora, ANALYSIS OF FAST TRACK COURTS IN INDIA, 03 International Journal of Global Research Innovations & Technology (IJGRIT) 79–83. [Online] Available at: https://www.inspirajournals.com/uploads/Issues/307676817.pdf [Accessed July 8, 2025]
Brij Mohan Lal v. Union of India, (2012) 6 SCC 502 (India), https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1647194/ (last visited July 8, 2025).
Justice J.S. Verma Committee, Report on Amendments to Criminal Law, https://www.prsindia.org/reports-summaries/justice-verma-committee-report-summary (last visited July 8, 2025).
Department of Justice, Government of India, Fast Track Courts, https://doj.gov.in/fast-track-courts/ (last visited July 8, 2025).
Press Information Bureau, Fast Track Special Courts Performance Review, https://pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=153995&ModuleId=3 (last visited July 8, 2025).
Press Information Bureau, Fast Track Special Courts Performance Review (Dec. 2023), https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2004317 (last visited July 8, 2025)
Business Standard, Fast track courts dispose 94% cases of sexual offences in 2023: Report, https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/fast-track-courts-dispose-94-cases-of-sexual-offences-in-2023-report-124091100794_1.html (last visited July 8, 2025)
Priya Jaiswal, Fast-Track Courts in India: Assessing Efficacy and Proposing Solutions for Case Backlog, 06 International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation 1482–1496 (2024).
Department of Justice, https://dashboard.doj.gov.in/fast-track-court/ (last visited July 8, 2025)
India Tracker, More than 15 lakh cases pending in FTCs, https://www.indiatracker.in/story/more-than-15-lakh-cases-are-pending-in-indias-fast-track-courts-are-these-courts-really-fast-in-delivering-justice (last visited July 8, 2025).
Abhishek Prasad, Fast Trial (Track) Court and Their Contribution to Solve Delay in Procedure, LAWCTOPUS (Oct. 9, 2024), https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/fast-trial-court-and-their-contribution/ (last visited July 8, 2025)
Press Information Bureau, Fast Track Courts Scheme Extended for Three More Years, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1986756 (last visited July 8, 2025).

[1] Fast Track Courts (ftcs): Department of Justice: India (no date) Department of Justice | India. Available at: https://doj.gov.in/fast-track-courts/ (Accessed: 08 July 2025).

[2] 188th proposals for Constitution of hi-tech fast-track commercial divisions in High Courts-Law Commission of india-dec’2003, IBC Laws (2016), https://ibclaw.in/188th-proposals-for-constitution-of-hi-tech-fast-track-commercial-divisions-in-high-courts-law-commission-of-india-dec2003/ (last visited Jul 8, 2025).

[3] Press Information Bureau, Fast Track Special Courts Performance Review (Dec. 2023), https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2004317 (last visited July 8, 2025)

[4] Press Information Bureau, 757 Fast Track Special Courts functional across the country: The courts have disposed of more than 2,14,000 cases as of December 31, 2023, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2004317 (last visited July 8, 2025)

[5] Department of Justice, https://dashboard.doj.gov.in/fast-track-court/ (last visited July 8, 2025)

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