Number of Fast Track Courts Reduced to 815 Since 2000

1750 Fast Track Courts were approved to be set up across 29 states in 2000 but now the count has hit almost half.

A RTI reply has divulged that the number of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) assigned to handle corruption cases against politicians has come down to 815, which is almost half since the year of its inception in 2000.

According to the data, nearly 1750 FTCs were approved to be set up across 29 states in 2000 of which only 1562 were found to be functional by March 2005. From December 2010 to April 2014 functioning FTCs were reduced to a meagre 815.

The figures were generated by the Ministry of Law and Justice, in response to a RTI query by Mumbai-based activist Anil Galgali.

Known for its corruption, Bihar, however surprisingly tops the list with 179 functional FTCs; Maharashtra comes second with 92 fast track courts. Only Delhi and Kerala have reversed the trend, with Delhi adding 10 new fast track courts and Kerala adding seven, taking its total from 31 in 2005 to 38 courts in 2014.