In a move that will bear grave consequences for offenders, the state government has decided to set up 138 fast track courts across the state for time bound disposal of cases of sexual offenses pertaining to women and children for a year. On Wednesday, an official order of a Government Resolution (GR) for setting up 26 fast track courts in Mumbai and 112 across the state was released.
Reportedly, out of the 138 courts, 108 will deal with cases of sexual offense against women whereas 30 courts will deal with cases registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. As per the GR, 26 courts will be set up in Mumbai, 18 in Thane, 16 in Pune, 7 Amravati and 5 in Nagpur, while one court under POCSO Act will be set up in each district.
We have been reading news and hearing cases of sexual offense against women and children on a daily basis. It’s been reported that each minute in every corner of the state, a woman is either raped, molested and abused. By the help of these fast tracks courts in the state, there might be a ray of hope for those women and children. As per the same report, there are more than 30,000 cases related to sexual offences against women which are awaiting timely completion of trial in the state. And that is the reason why the government has set up these courts. People say the move is timely in the wake of increasing sexual offences against women and children.
The 138 courts will be set up in collaboration with the central government and state government. A total of Rs 103.50 crore will be required to set up these 138 courts out to which the Central government will bear 60 percent expenditure while the state government will bear the remaining 40 per cent.
