Maharashtra: 25 fast-track courts for rape cases soon
December 27, 2012  18:40
Twenty-five fast-track courts are proposed to be set up in Maharashtra for time-bound disposal of serious crimes against women, as more rape victims in several states turned out to report sexual assault.

A mentally challenged woman, a commercial sex worker and a teenaged girl were among the rape victims from Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has given an in-principle consent to the proposal for 25 more fast-track courts and the government will approach the Bombay High Court to seek its nod, Home Minister R R Patil said in Mumbai today.

The move by the state government came in the wake of a spurt in incidents of rape and harassment of girls in various parts of Maharashtra and also against the backdrop of demands for speedy measures to hand out punishment to rape convicts following the Delhi gang-rape incident.

"In Maharashtra, there are 100 fast track courts for speedy disposal of criminal cases. We will approach the Bombay High Court to earmark 25 of these courts exclusively for serious crimes against women. We feel that if dedicated courts are set up, it would certainly help in reducing violence against women," Patil said.

Patil also announced that the police would step up their drive against tinted films on window panes of vehicles.
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