Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) — India's Rape and POCSO Case Scheme, a Cautionary Case

India launched the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) scheme in October 2019, a centrally sponsored programme co-funded with state governments to create dedicated courts for rape cases and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By April 2026 the scheme had grown to 775 courts, including 398 exclusive POCSO courts, operating across 29 states and union territories.

On output, the scheme has processed a large volume of cases: 366,124 disposed since 2019, with Uttar Pradesh's 218 courts alone accounting for 91,459 disposals. But disposal has not kept pace with intake — roughly 245,579 cases remained pending as of December 2025, and an earlier nationwide assessment found only about 10% of rape and POCSO cases were decided in 2022.

This case is included as a caution: a Parliamentary Standing Committee review concluded the courts have remained 'fast in namesake only,' attributing the shortfall to insufficient judicial staffing, cumbersome procedural requirements and recurrent case postponements — meaning the reform relabelled existing capacity rather than adding it. The Committee recommended pairing any further fast-track courts with investment in judges, forensic laboratories and victim support, and warned that participation has itself been uneven: Jharkhand exited the scheme in July 2025, and some states with sanctioned courts have never made them operational.

Read the full analysis: https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/fast-track-courts-disposed-of-over-3-66-lakh-cases-since-2019-but-pendency-remains-above-2-45-lakh-545221-2026-07-25