(a) whether there is shortage of judges in the Fast Track Courts as a result of which the cases get piled up defeating there by the very purpose for setting up such courts;
(b) if so, the number of vacancies available in such courts, State-wise; and
(c) the steps being taken to fill up all vacancies?
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE (SHRI K. JANA KRISHNAMURTHI)
(a)&(b) A Statement of shortage of Judges and vacancies in Fast Track Courts is annexed.
(b) It is the primary responsibility of the concerned High Court and the State Government to fill up the vacancies of judges in Fast Track Courts in their respective jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court in its Judgement of the 6th May, 2002 in Brij Mohan Lal Vs. Union of India & Others has directed as below:-
` The High Court and the State Government shall ensure that there exists no vacancy so far as the Fast Track Courts are concerned, and necessary steps in this regard shall be taken within three months from today. In other words, steps should be taken to set up all the Fast Track Courts within the stipulated time`.
The direction given by the Supreme Court has been communicated to the State Governments for compliance.
ANNEXE
Statement showing the number of vacancies in Fast Track Courts as on 30.07.2002
Sr.No. Name of the State No.of FTCs No.of FTCs No. of vacancies Notified Working
1. Andhra Pradesh 70 22 48
2. Arunachal Pradesh 3 3
3. Assam 20 15 5
4. Bihar 183 110 73
5. Chhattisgarh 31 23 8 6. Goa 3 3
7 Gujarat 36 36
8. Haryana 12 5 7
9. Himachal Pradesh 10. Jammu & Kashmir 43 40 3 11. Jharkhand 89 30 59 12. Karnataka 13 10 3 13. Kerala 27 10 17 14. Madhya Pradesh 85 36 49 15. Maharashtra 104 94 10 16. Manipur 2 2 17. Meghalaya 2 2 18. Mizoram 3 - 3 19. Nagaland 2 - 2 20. Orissa 27 19 8 21. Punjab 6 5 1 22. Rajasthan 40 40 23. Sikkim - - 24. Tamil Nadu 49 30 19 25. Tripura 3 2 1 26. Uttaranchal 45 30 15 27. Uttar Pradesh 206 157 49 28. West Bengal 46 13 33
Total 1150 737 453