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On 4 November 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the continuation and expansion of India's Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for rape and child sexual abuse cases, raising the number of such courts from 779 to 850. The decision, announced by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extends the centrally sponsored scheme for five more years, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031, with a total financial outlay of Rs 3,788.04 crore. For victims of sexual crimes, and for a justice system long criticised for slow trials, the move is significant — but it is an expansion of an existing scheme, not a brand-new one, and its success will depend on how quickly the additional courts actually start hearing cases.
The Cabinet approved the continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Fast Track Special Courts, including exclusive POCSO courts, for a further five years. The scheme will now aim to operationalise up to 850 Fast Track Special Courts across the participating States and Union Territories, up from 779 courts currently functional.
The total outlay of Rs 3,788.04 crore is shared between the Centre and the States: the Central share is Rs 2,353.15 crore and the States and Union Territories share is Rs 1,434.89 crore. According to reports of the Cabinet briefing, the Centre's share will be met from the Nirbhaya Fund, which was set up to support initiatives for women's safety.
The scheme currently covers 29 States and Union Territories. The additional courts will extend coverage to more districts, with new districts identified on the basis of the pendency of rape and POCSO cases — in other words, places where the backlog of such cases is heaviest will be prioritised.
Each Fast Track Special Court is designed to do one job and do it without the distractions of a general court docket. Under the scheme, every FTSC gets a dedicated judicial officer, a special public prosecutor, and six support staff. That dedicated team matters: in an ordinary district court, a judge juggles civil cases, property disputes, and criminal trials of every kind, and a sensitive case can wait months between hearings simply because the docket is full. A dedicated court hears only these cases, so dates can be fixed closer together and the trial can move in a steadier sequence.
The courts deal with two categories of cases: rape cases, and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Within the network, some courts are exclusive POCSO courts, meaning they hear only cases involving child victims. Of the roughly 779 courts currently functional, nearly 400 are exclusive POCSO courts, according to reports of the scheme's latest figures.
The Department of Justice will oversee implementation, monitor performance through an online dashboard, and hold regular reviews with high courts and state governments. That monitoring is meant to catch the usual reasons fast-track courts slow down: vacant judicial posts, missing prosecutors, or support staff who have not been appointed.
The FTSC scheme was launched on 2 October 2019, following the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, and directions from the Supreme Court in July 2019. The court had directed the setting up of exclusive special courts in districts with more than 100 pending POCSO cases, after noting how long child sexual abuse cases were taking.
The idea was straightforward. Sexual offence cases, especially those involving children, suffer most from delay. Witnesses forget details, victims — often children — are forced to relive trauma over repeated adjournments, and accused persons who can afford prolonged litigation benefit from the drift. A time-bound trial, in a court that hears nothing else, was meant to break that pattern. The scheme was initially launched for one year and was subsequently extended, most recently up to 31 March 2026; the latest Cabinet decision carries it forward to 2031.
The POCSO Act itself, passed in 2012, defines a range of sexual offences against children and sets out child-friendly procedures for reporting, recording statements, and trial. The FTSCs are the institutional backbone for trying those cases quickly, alongside the general criminal law provisions that apply to rape cases involving adult victims.
For victims, the most direct benefit is speed — or at least, the promise of it. A dedicated court with a dedicated prosecutor should mean fewer adjournments, a shorter gap between hearings, and a verdict that arrives while evidence and testimony are still fresh. For child victims in particular, a shorter trial reduces the number of times they must engage with the process, which is itself a form of relief.
For the justice system, the expansion to 850 courts is also a recognition of scale. Seventy-one additional courts will not clear the backlog overnight, but they do spread capacity to districts that previously had none, so victims there no longer depend on a distant or overloaded court.
There are limits, however, that the Cabinet decision alone does not fix. A court can only try cases that reach it: investigation quality, forensic reports, and witness availability all sit outside the courtroom and can still cause delay. Vacancies are another recurring problem — a sanctioned court without a judge or prosecutor is just a room. The dashboard monitoring and regular reviews with high courts are intended to address exactly this, but they will need to be followed through, not just announced. Finally, "fast track" does not mean a rushed trial: the accused still has the right to a fair hearing, evidence must still be tested, and either side can appeal. Speed here means fewer gaps and adjournments, not fewer safeguards.
With the scheme extended to March 2031, the next steps fall to the States and Union Territories and the high courts: identifying the additional districts, appointing judicial officers and special public prosecutors, and bringing the new courts into operation. How fast that happens will be the real test of this announcement. The outlay is approved and the target — 850 courts — is set; the number that are actually functional, and the pace at which pending rape and POCSO cases move through them, will show up in the scheme's own monitoring over the coming months.
Readers following related court and justice developments may also find these explainers useful: Tamil Nadu's move to set up 26 new POCSO courts and 52 special courts, explained at https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=tamil-nadu-26-new-pocso-courts-52-special-courts-explained, and the Supreme Court's recent direction that banks must compensate digital arrest fraud victims where due diligence failed, at https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=sc-digital-arrest-bank-compensation-explained.
The Cabinet's approval of 850 Fast Track Special Courts is a continuation of a seven-year-old effort to give rape and child sexual abuse cases the dedicated judicial attention they need. The five-year extension to 2031, the Rs 3,788.04 crore outlay, and the expansion from 779 to 850 courts all point in the same direction: faster, more focused trials for some of the most serious crimes in the country. Whether victims actually feel that difference will depend on appointments, infrastructure, and the day-to-day discipline of keeping these courts' dockets moving. The decision is a strong signal; the delivery is what to watch next.
Sources: the Cabinet decision was reported by News18 (https://www.news18.com/india/850-fast-track-courts-rape-child-abuse-cases-cabinet-approval-ashwini-vaishnaw-cabinet-briefing-ws-l-10412380.html), Deccan Herald (https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/india/cabinet-extends-fast-track-courts-for-rape-pocso-cases-till-2031-raises-count-to-850-4207560), ET Now (https://www.etnownews.com/news/cabinet-approves-continuation-of-fast-track-special-courts-scheme-for-five-years-till-2031-check-features-impacts-strategy-and-targets-article-156464246/amp) and The New Indian Express (https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Nov/04/cabinet-approves-extension-strengthening-of-850-fast-track-courts-for-rape-child-abuse-cases).
Fast Track Special Courts are dedicated courts set up under a centrally sponsored scheme to ensure time-bound trial and disposal of pending rape cases and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Each court has a dedicated judicial officer, a special public prosecutor and six support staff, and hears only these categories of cases.
The Union Cabinet approved expanding the network from 779 functional courts to 850 Fast Track Special Courts, including exclusive POCSO courts, across 29 participating States and Union Territories. New districts will be chosen based on the pendency of rape and POCSO cases.
The scheme has been extended for five years, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031, with a total outlay of Rs 3,788.04 crore — a Central share of Rs 2,353.15 crore and a States/UTs share of Rs 1,434.89 crore. The Centre's share is to be met from the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, defines sexual offences against children and prescribes child-friendly procedures for reporting, recording statements and trial. Exclusive POCSO courts within the FTSC network hear only cases involving child victims.
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