Fast-Track Court
Definition
Designated court (often Fast Track Special Court, FTSC) set up under the 2019 scheme to dispose POCSO and rape cases within stipulated timelines.
- Jurisdiction
- India
- Common name
- Fast Track Special Court (FTSC)
- Established under
- 2019 scheme
- Purpose
- Time-bound disposal of POCSO and rape cases
Common questions
Why were fast-track courts created specifically for POCSO and rape cases?+
Ordinary criminal court backlogs meant sexual offence trials, particularly those involving children, could run for years, so the scheme set up dedicated courts with stipulated disposal timelines to reduce that delay and the associated harm of prolonged proceedings for victims.
Does a fast-track court change the evidentiary or medicolegal process, or only the timeline?+
The evidentiary standards, medical examination protocols, and forensic requirements remain the same as in an ordinary court; what changes is the scheduling priority and the target timeframe for the case to move from filing to disposal.
Related terms
- Consent
- Under BNS 2023 Explanation 2 to Section 63, unequivocal voluntary agreement by words, gestures or any verbal or non-verbal communication. Absence of...
- Marital Rape Exception
- Exception 2 to BNS 2023 Section 63 (carrying forward IPC 375 Exception 2): intercourse by a man with his own wife not...
- MoH&FW Protocol 2014
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Guidelines and Protocols for Medico-legal Care for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Violence, 2014. Standardised history,...
- Penetration
- Even slight penetration of the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus by the penis, any body part, or any object is sufficient to...
- POCSO 2012
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (India); establishes criminal liability for child sexual abuse but does not mandate sex-offender...
- Rape (BNS 2023 Section 63)
- Sexual intercourse or specified penetrative acts by a man with a woman without her consent, against her will, by coercion, by misrepresentation,...
- Sexual Assault (POCSO)
- Under POCSO 2012, any non-penetrative sexual touch of a child with sexual intent. Aggravated sexual assault attracts higher punishment when committed by...
- Statutory Rape
- Sexual intercourse with a person below the age of consent (18 in India), regardless of consent. The minor's consent is legally irrelevant.
- Two-Finger Test
- Discredited per-vaginal examination once used to comment on habituation to intercourse. Banned by the Supreme Court in Lillu @ Rajesh v State...