DELIVERING JUSTICE FOR WOMEN: LESSONS FROM FAST

TRACK COURTS IN INDIA

Shalini Dhyani
student of vasudev college of law

ABSTRACT
India, a crime against women and children below the age of twelve faces no dearth of legislative
aids in paper to prevent it. However, the efficacy of such aids reach is a lingering question this
research paper intends to answer. Various state governments have positively introduced Fast
Track courts and E-complaint system. This article discusses about the domestic violence cases
during the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the e-complaint system on it. While India
proudly proclaims its heritage and achievements, one big mark that blots a lot of its glory is the
number of rape cases against all genders. As per the recent report of the National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB) in 2019, an average of 88 rape cases happens in India per day. There has been
an increase in the rate of crimes against women by 7% from 2018 to 2019. Moreover, it has been
recorded that the conviction rate is less than 30% in India. These figures show that this issue
deserves to be dealt with by stringent punishments, appropriate legislative aids, and diligent
implementation. This article is a humble effort to understand the competence of fast track courts
and ecomplaint system in India to provide speedy justice. It discusses how fast Justice a boon
and hurried justice a bane d be recognized. A holistic approach should be taken to improve
India’s Fast Track Courts and E-complaint system.

INTRODUCTION
It is observed that a significant reason for the low conviction rate in India is the long driven path
towards Justice. For heinous crimes such as rapes where a strong mental element of the
perpetrator is involved, it is pertinent that a sense of fear and moral obligation is instilled within
the society. Fast delivery of Justice can help in achieving this. Fast Track Courts' concept rests its
foundation on the common saying that "justice delayed is justice denied.

Fast Track courts were introduced in India by the Eleventh Finance Commission in 2000. It
suggested a scheme to have 1734 Fast Track Courts by 31st march 2005 in the country.
However, the Supreme Court observed in the case Brij Mohan v Union of India , "The scheme
of fast track courts should continue for the next five years and should not be stranded suddenly."
The Fast Track Courts were continued to be funded by the central government until 2010 and
then left at the state governments' discretion. Later, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018
and POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019 were introduced. For effective implementation of the same,
The Supreme Court recommended to set up more Fast Track Courts for speedy trial of rape and
POCSO Act cases. Each of these Fast Track Courts is expected to complete a minimum of 165
cases in a year.

Literature Review:
"Speeding up Sexual Assault Trials: A Constructive Critique of India's Fast-Track
Courts"5 by Vandana Peterson, This journal article extensively covers multiple angles of Fast
Track Courts. The first part discussed types of sexual violence against women in India. In the
next part, Fast Track Courts’ evolution in India is elaborated. Later a comparison is made with
international models, and lessons imparted from them are discussed. This helped the researcher
to develop a holistic understanding of Fast Track Courts.
"A Scheme on setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts for Expeditious Disposal of Cases of Rape
and POSCO Act"6 , by Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India: It widely covered the
necessity of Fast Track courts in India. An elaborate discussion of the objectives and functioning of these
courts is included along with a detailed view of the fund allotted for it. It was resourceful for the
researcher to understand the intentions behind introducing special courts.
"Crime in India 2019 Volume I"7 , by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India: It provided detailed statistics on the actual status of crimes in India. It
recorded that the predominant cases of violence against women include cruelty by husband or his
relatives, Assault on women to outrage her modesty, and abduction of women. Statistics used by the
researcher in this study is derived predominantly from this record.
"Effective complaints procedures"8 from records of U.N. Women, This article deals with the fallouts
of the existing complaint system and provides suggestions for its betterment. The first part deals with
ways to improve the efficiency of the system as a whole. The second part dealt with better investigation
procedures for cases of violence against women. It helped the researcher to gain new perspectives.
"Violence against women: Where are the solutions?"9 by Indira Sharma,
This journal article dealt with the multiple facets of violence against women in India and their
impact on society. It identified and categorized different types of atrocities against women. The
socio-cultural factors effecting the same is also discussed. The researcher gained knowledge
about the background of the issue and explored cultural practices behind the same.
"Domestic violence complaints at a 10-year high during COVID-19 lockdown"10 , The
Hindu: This article detailed the facts and figures of domestic violence during the lockdown based
on data collected by a survey. It concludes that most victims do not resort to any legal aid when
being subjected to domestic violence. This article inspired the researcher to understand the
ground reality and the reasons behind this painful situation.
II. SPEEDY JUSTICE AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF THE
ACCUSED AND THE AGGRIEVED.
Speedy trial is a quintessential part of righteous Justice. The United States recognized speedy
trial as a constitutional right, and the European Convention on Human Rights also assures
everyone arrested trial within a reasonable time. In India, speedy trial is recognized as a
fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The interpretation of right to life
and personal liberty was widened to include the right to speedy Justice. It is in favor of the
accused if they are innocent and in favor of the aggrieved otherwise.
The speedy trial concept was first introduced in the case of Hussainara Khatoon v. State of
Bihar. It was held that a person's personal liberty could have encroached onlyunder just, fair and
reasonable procedure established by law. In Katar Singh v. State of Punjab, the concept of
speedy Justice was read under Article 21 and interpreted as a fundamental right. A delayed
Justice deprives the aggrieved of deserved Justice and mentally tortures the accused even before
proven guilty. It was reiterated in the case of Sheela Barse v. Union of India.The mental stress
and anxiety accompanied by the lengthy path for Justice can itself be a punishment, as held in
Arun Kumar Ghosh v. State of Bengal.
The principles of natural Justice that ensure fairness in action states that a judgment should be
unbiased, heard from both sides, and reasoned adequately. It was held in the case of Mohinder
Singh Gill vs. Chief Election Commissioner, "the concept of fairness should be in every action
whether it is judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative work." Therefore, while ensuring speedy
Justice, one must not compromise on these basic principles of fairness. In some instances like
corruption and malpractice in the judicial system, a fair trial is not held. Hence, specific
guidelines were introduced in Abdul Rehman Antulay v. R.S. Nayak's case, and it held that
quashing of a case should depend on its nature.
III. COMPETENCE OF FAST TRACK COURTS IN INDIA
Fast Track Courts were introduced in India to reduce the pendency of cases. However according
to NCRB data in 2019, 81% of the 26,965 cases held by fast-track courts and 69% of the 17,155
cases disposed of by the POCSO courts took between one to ten years for thetrial to be
completed.
In the case of Babu Singh v. State of U.P., Justice Krishna Iyer emphasized, "Speedy Justice
is a component of social Justice since the community, as a whole, is concerned in the criminal
being punished within a reasonable time and the innocent being absolved from the inordinate
ordeal of criminal proceedings."
The effectiveness of Fast Track Courts can be evaluated by the fairness of the judgment
pronounced also. It has been observed that most cases held by Fast Track Courts are later
appealed to higher courts as the result was not satisfactory. Moreover, another scenario where
innocent people are framed to dispose of a case quickly is also observed. It shall be noted that
fast Justice becomes a great relief to the victims and the wrongly accused, but hurried Justice
will jeopardize these benefits.
Major The effectiveness of Fast Track Courts can be evaluated by the fairness of the judgment
pronounced also. It has been observed that most cases held by Fast Track Courts are later
appealed to higher courts as the result was not satisfactory. Moreover, another scenario where
innocent people are framed to dispose of a case quickly is also observed. It shall be noted that
fast Justice becomes a great relief to the victims and the wrongly accused, but hurried Justice
will jeopardize these benefits.
The effectiveness of Fast Track Courts can be evaluated by the fairness of the judgment
pronounced also. It has been observed that most cases held by Fast Track Courts are later
appealed to higher courts as the result was not satisfactory. Moreover, another scenario where
innocent people are framed to dispose of a case quickly is also observed. It shall be noted that
fast Justice becomes a great relief to the victims and the wrongly accused, but hurried Justice
will jeopardize these benefits.
Major fallouts of Fast Track Courts:
• Even though Fast Track Courts are established as special courts, no special powers are given to
it. A Fast Track Court is expected to follow every procedure as that of a regular court and still
arrive at faster conclusions, which is not practical.
• Most of the Fast Track Courts are understaffed and have incompetent infrastructural amenities.
I.T. infrastructure and mechanisms to procure evidence are notably weak in such courts.
• Delay in receiving reports and frivolous adjournments are also a reason for the incompetence of
these courts.
It can be concluded that a holistic approach should be followed by the special courts to ensure
fast and fair Justice. It shall be kept in mind that Justice delayed is Justice denied, but Justice
hurried is Justice buried.
Suggestions for fast and fair justice from international models
Few suggestions inspired by the model of special courts in the United Kingdom and the United
States are discussed in this chapter. In India, more efforts should be taken to increase the efficacy
of courts while the structure already exists.
1. It is essential to clearly define a shorter procedure for special courts as observed in the U.K.
model. Moreover, there should be a clear demarcation of the type of cases transferred to these
courts, which is vague in India.

2. State governments fund the Fast Track Courts' at present. It is observed that every state
government does not give the deserving importance for it. Either this should be appropriately
monitored, or the central government should take it up again to ensure uniformity.
3. It can be noted from the U.S. model that there is more community engagement in the courts,
which develops more public trust. The gap between the individuals and the judicial system is
reduced by the same.
4. Further, it would be more productive to have specialized judges for special courts. For
instance, POCSO courts can have trained judges who have better expertise in that field. It could
be achieved by sensitizing the judges of the Fast Track courts before recruiting them.
Suggestions to develop more public trust in the system-
1. The confidentiality of the complaint shall be made at the discretion of the complainant. The
victim shall have the liberty to choose how public the case should be.
2. The burden of proof shall be transferred to the accused, which will make the entire process
easier for the aggrieved.
3. The officers in charge shall be given special training to respect the victim's privacy and ensure
prompt proportionate responses.
4. There shall be complete transparency of the procedure followed between the investigating
officer and the victim.

IV. CONCLUSION
The ever increasing number of crimes in India points to the shortcomings of our judicial system.
Speedy justice is an integral part of a perfect judicial system provided that the judgment is fair
and reasonable. The distinction between desirable fast justice and undesirable hurried justice
should be recognized. A holistic approach should be taken to improve India’s Fast Track Courts
and E-complaint system. Privacy and comfort of the victims should be given utmost importance
for domestic violence cases. An appropriate framework for an Ideal judicial system already
exists in India. Diligent planning and proper utilization of resources can certainly reap better
results.
A strict demarcation of the type of cases entertained in a Fast Track Court and clarity regarding
its funding is important. A collaborative approach can be adopted to improve the infrastructure
and administration of Fast Track Courts. Improving community engagement will be key to its
better performance
.
V. REFERENCES
DIYA PARVATI K.P, Analysing the role of fast track courts and E-complaint system in
deterring the crime against women in India, Journal, International Journal Of Law Management
And Humanities volume 4 , issue3, (2021).

Case laws:

1. Brij Mohan Lal v. Union of India, (2002) 5 S.C.C. 615 (India).

2. Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, (1980) 1 S.C.C. 98.

3. Katar Singh v. State of Punjab, (1994) 3 S.C.C. 569.

4. Sheela Barse v. Union of India, (1986) 3 S.C.C. 632.

5. Arun Kumar Ghosh v. State of Bengal, (1972) 3 S.C.C. 823.

7. Abdul Rehman Antulay v. R.S. Nayak, (1992) 1 S.C.C. 225.

8. Babu Singh v. State of U.P., (2005) 9 S.C.C. 741.

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