Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking in the assembly on Tuesday, said govt has finalised a plan to start 138 new fast-track courts, but some are waiting for the appointment of judges to start functioning.The issue came up for discussion after BJP MLAs Shankar Jagtap and Rahul Kool sought details on the opening of new courts to reduce pendency. In a written reply to Jagtap’s question, Fadnavis said that there are 3,558 Pocso cases pending in Pune of which 2,803 are before six Pocso special courts, while the remaining 755 cases are in the courts of 28 district judges and three ad-hoc district judges.Replying to Kool’s question, the CM said, “Govt has made efforts to expand the infrastructure for courts in the last 10-12 years. Of the 138 fast-track courts planned in the state, only 58 started, while the remaining are waiting for the appointment of judges.”The chief minister said that govt has been following up with the Bombay High Court in the last year. He said, “In our last meeting with the Chief Justice, I urged him to appoint judges for the proposed courts, and his response was positive.”Fadnavis added that the high court has said that the process of recruitment and promotion of judges is in the final phase and, once appointed, all 138 courts will function, reducing pendency.In the latest judgment in a Pocso case, a special fast-track court in Pune pronounced the death penalty on a 65-year-old convict in the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Nasrapur near Pune. The verdict came in 59 days of the crime which the chief minister called a landmark judgment.
