Kerala to set up 28 fast track courts for speedy trial of rape & POCSO cases

Kerala government has sanctioned the setting up of 28 fast track courts for speedy trial in rape cases and other cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Kerala Social Justice and Women and Child Development Minister KK Shailaja said in the wake of rising crimes against women and children, the state government has decided to set up POCSO courts to ensure that the victims are given timely justice.

"The Union Law Ministry has recently sanctioned the opening of 28 POCSO fast track special courts in Kerala at the request of the state government. The project will be implemented jointly by the High Court, Law and Home Departments under the leadership of the Department of Women and Child Development," the Minister said.

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Of the 28 fast track courts, four courts have been allocated in Thiruvananthapuram district, three in Thrissur and Malappuram districts, two each in Kollam, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur districts.

Kerala Minister informed that the POCSO courts are being jointly established by the central and state governments in consideration of the High Court data which reveals that 12,234 cases of POCSO and rape are pending in the state.

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Jharkhand approves setting up 22 fast track courts

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday, January 6, approved the formation of 22 fast track courts for the trial of rape cases. According to reports, this includes the cases of minors under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the State as well. The Office of the Chief Minister tweeted about the approval. 

READ | Over 1,000 Fast Track Courts To Be Set Up For Rape Cases

Govt proposes to set up special fast-track courts

The Union Government earlier in September last year had 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. The Department of Justice under Union Law Ministry had stated that the special courts are expected to dispose of at least 165 cases per year. 

Further, as per the Supreme Court's direction, out of the total courts, 389 courts are expected to exclusively handle all the cases that are registered under the POCSO Act while the remaining courts will be dealing with either rape cases or both rape and POCSO act cases. 

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(With inputs from ANI)

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