Context:
Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) under the POCSO Act, 2012 have achieved high disposal rates in 2025, but conviction rates have declined, raising concerns over systemic gaps in child protection and justice delivery.
Key Highlights
Data & Performance Trends
- 2025 disposal rate: 109% (87,754 cases disposed vs 80,320 registered).
• Conviction rate decline:
- 2019 – 35%
- 2023 – 29%
Policy and Institutional Details
- FTSCs established in October 2019, funded by the Nirbhaya Fund.
• Section 39 mandates support persons for child survivors.
• Supreme Court (Dec 2025) directed appointment of Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) at every police station.
Systemic Issues Identified
- Hurried investigations and incomplete charge sheets.
• Delayed forensic reports.
• Lack of empanelled support persons in many states.
• Delays in interim and final compensation.
• Courts acquitting accused offering marriage to survivors.
Significance
- Highlights the tension between quantitative disposal targets vs qualitative justice.
• Exposes institutional weaknesses in victim protection mechanisms.
Relevant Prelims Points
- POCSO Act, 2012 – Special law protecting children (<18 years) from sexual offences.
• Provides child-friendly procedures and time-bound trials.
• Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) – Dedicated courts for expediting POCSO and rape cases.
• Nirbhaya Fund – Dedicated fund for women’s safety initiatives.
• Section 39, POCSO – Mandates support persons.
• Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) – Legal assistance at grassroots level.
Relevant Mains Points
- Social Justice Dimension
- Survivors face stigma, intimidation, and financial distress.
• Lack of psychosocial support undermines testimony reliability.
- Governance and Implementation Gaps
- Policy mandates exist but execution remains uneven across states.
• Need for forensic infrastructure strengthening.
• Capacity deficits in overcrowded courts (e.g., UP, Maharashtra).
- Ethical and Legal Concerns
- Marriage-based acquittals contradict spirit of child protection laws.
• Raises issue of patriarchal bias in judicial interpretation.
- Justice Delivery Reform
- Fast-tracking without systemic strengthening leads to procedural lapses.
• Compensation delays undermine rehabilitative justice.
Way Forward
- Strengthen forensic capacity and police training.
• Ensure uniform appointment of support persons and PLVs.
• Mandatory judicial training on gender-sensitive adjudication.
• Strict timelines for compensation disbursal.
• Monitor conviction quality, not just disposal quantity.
UPSC Relevance
- GS 2 – Governance & Social Justice
• Prelims: POCSO Act provisions
• Ethics: Protection of vulnerable children