 bill no 101 of 2014 the fast track courts for elected representatives bill, 2014 byshri baijayant panda, mpa billto establish fast track courts for trial of cases involving criminal charges against elected representativesbe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fifth year of the republic of  india as follows:— chapter i preliminary(3) in states and union territories with a legislature, the provisions of this act shall come into force on such date as the state government or, as the case may be, the government of the union territory may, by notification, appoint:provided that the notification shall be issued within one year from the date ofcommencement of this act5(4) in union territories without legislature, the provisions of this act shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification, appoint:provided that the notification shall be issued within one year from the date of commencement of this act10(5) any reference in any provision of this act to the commencement of this act shall, in relation to a state or a union territory, be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision in that state or union territory, as the case may bedefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—15(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of thatstate, in the case of a union territory with legislature, the government of that union territory, and in all other cases, the central government;2 of 1974(b) "code" means the code of criminal procedure, 1973;(c) "fast track court" means a fast track court established under sub-section (1) or(2), as the case may be, of section 3;20(d) "legislature of a state" includes the legislature of the national capital territory ofdelhi and the legislature of union territory of puducherry;(e) "municipality" means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-governmentconstituted under article 243q of the constitution;(f) "panchayat" means an institution (by whatever name called) of self-governmentconstituted under article 243b of the constitution; and25(g) "state government" includes the government of the national capital territory of delhi and the government of union territory of puducherry and the expression "state" shall be construed accordingly chapter ii establishment of fast track courts30establishment of fast track courts3 (1) the central government shall, by notification, establish one or more fasttrack courts for each union territory without a legislature to try criminal offencesinvolving elected representatives of that union territory35(2) every state government shall, by notification, establish one or more fast trackcourts within its jurisdiction to try criminal offences involving elected representatives of that state(3) every fast track court established under sub-section (1) or (2) shall exercise thejurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on such court by or under this act(4) the fast track court shall sit at such place or places, as the appropriategovernment may, by notification, specify40(5) the fast track court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers ofsuch a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself4 (1) every fast track court shall be presided by a judge to be appointed by the appropriate governmentprovisions relating to judges of fast track courts(2) the appropriate government may also appoint such number of additional judges to the fast track court as it may, on the basis of the assessment procedure laid down in subsection (4), from time to time, deem necessary to appoint:5provided that the appropriate government shall record in writing the reasons for arrivingat a decision on the number of additional judges to be appointed(3) every appointment under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall be made with the concurrence of the chief justice of the high court exercising jurisdiction in relation to that state or union territory, as the case may be10(4) the number of additional judges to be appointed under sub-section (2) shall be onthe basis of an assessment of the requirement of the fast track court and such requirement shall include, inter alia, the following,—(a) rate of institution and disposal of cases; (b) number of cases pending; (c) nature or type of offences under trial and the duration of trial in each case; (d) caseload per judge; and15(e) the number of cases where the trial was not completed within a period ofninety daysexplanation—for the purpose of this sub-section, caseload means the number of cases tried by a judge20(5) the assessment under sub-section (4) shall be made at least once in every twentyfour months and the number of additional judges to be appointed under sub-section (2)shall be revised in accordance with such assessment:provided that the appropriate government shall record the reasons, in writing, for such revision25(6) a person shall not be qualified for appointment as a judge or an additional judgeof a fast track court unless he is, immediately before such appointment, a session judge or an additional session judge in any state30(7) where any additional judge is, or additional judges are, appointed in a fasttrack court, the judge of the fast track court may, from time to time, by general or specialorder, in writing, provide for the distribution of business of the fast track court among himself and the additional judge or additional judges and also for the disposal of urgent business in the event of his absence or in the absence of any additional judge(8) a fast track court may, if it considers it expedient or desirable so to do, sit for any of its proceedings at any place, other than the ordinary place of its sitting, in the state or the union territory in which it is established:35 40provided that if the public prosecutor certifies to the fast track court that in hisopinion it is necessary for the protection of the accused or any witness or it is expedient in the interest of justice that the whole or any part of the trial should be held at some place other than the ordinary place of its sitting, the fast track court may, after hearing the accused, make an order to that effect unless, for reasons to be recorded in writing, the fast track court thinks it fit to make any other order45(9) the expenditure in respect of the salaries, allowances and pensions payable tothe judges and additional judges of the fast track court shall, in the case of a fast track court established in a state, be charged on the consolidated fund of that state and in the case of a fast track court established by the central government, be charged on the consolidated fund of india5 (1) for every fast track court, the appropriate government shall appoint a publicprosecutor for conducting in such court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on behalf of the appropriate governmentprovision relating to public prosecutors for fast track courts5(2) the appropriate government may also appoint such number of additional publicprosecutors to the fast track court as it may, on the basis of the assessment procedure laid down in sub-section (4), from time to time, deem it necessary to appoint:provided that the appropriate government shall  record in writing the reasons forarriving at a decision on the number of additional public prosecutors appointed10(3) every appointment under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall be made withthe concurrence of the chief justice of the high court exercising jurisdiction in relation to such state or union territory(4) the number of additional public prosecutors to be appointed under sub-section(2) shall be on the basis of an assessment of the requirements of the fast track court and such requirement shall include, inter alia, the following:—(a) rate of institution and disposal of cases;15(b) number of cases pending; (c) nature or type of offences under trial and the duration of trial in each case;and(d) caseload per public prosecutor20explanation— for the purpose of this sub-section, caseload means the number ofcases conducted by a public prosecutor(5) the assessment under sub-section (4) shall be conducted at least once in every twenty-four months, and the number of additional public prosecutors to be appointed under sub-section (2) shall be revised in accordance with such assessment:25provided that the appropriate government shall record the reasons in writing for suchrevision2 of 1974(6) a person shall be eligible to be appointed as a public prosecutor or an additionalpublic prosecutor if he is eligible to be appointed as a public prosecutor under section 24 ofthe code302 of 1974(7) every person appointed as a public prosecutor or an additional public prosecutorunder this section shall be deemed to be a public prosecutor within the meaning of clause (u) of section 2 of the code and the provisions of the code shall apply accordingly35officers and staff of the fast track court6 the appropriate government shall, with the concurrence of the chief justice of thehigh court exercising jurisdiction in relation to that state or union territory, appoint sufficient number of officers and staff to assist the fast track court in the discharge of its functions on such terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed by rules made under this act chapter iii proceedings in the fast track courts407 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in the code or in any other law for the time being in force, all cases involving offences alleged to have been committed under any criminal law by a member of parliament or legislature of a state or a panchayat or a municipality shall be tried by the fast track court having jurisdiction over the area where the commission of offence took placeall cases involving elected representatives to be tried by fast track courts45(2) every case, application or proceeding relating to offences referred to in subsection (1) pending before any court, other than a high court or the supreme court, immediately before the date of issue of notification under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 3 shall stand transferred to the fast track court having jurisdiction in relation to that area and the fast track court to which such proceeding stand transferred shall proceed with such cases from the stage at which they were pending at that time2 of 197458 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in the code, the fast track court shallconduct its proceedings on a day-to-day basis excluding public holidaysfast track court to try cases on dayto-day basis(2) the fast track court shall complete every trial within a period of ninety days fromthe date of filing of the charge sheet in the court:10provided that where the trial cannot be completed within a period of ninety days, thefast track court shall record in writing the reasons therefor and shall complete the trial within a further period of not more than ninety days(3) subject to the provisions of this act, a fast track court shall, for the purpose oftrial of any offence, have all the powers of a court of session and shall try such offence, as if it were a court of sessions, in accordance with such procedure as is specified in the code for trial before a court of session159 the supreme court may direct transfer of any particular case from one fast trackcourt to another fast track court if in the opinion of the supreme court, it is expedient for the ends of justice2010 (1) a fast track court may, on an application made by a witness in any proceedingbefore it or by the public prosecutor in relation to such witness or on its own motion, give such directions, as it deem fit, for keeping the identity and address of the witness secrettransfer of cases from one fast track court to anothermeasures for keeping the identity and address of the witness secret(2) in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1), the directions which a fast track court may give shall include—(a) holding of the proceedings at a protected place;25(b) avoiding the mention of names and addresses of witnesses in its orders,judgements or any records of the case having access to the public; and(c) ensuring that the identity and addresses of the witnesses are not disclosed(3) any person who contravenes any direction issued under this section shall bepunishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both30appeal2 of 197411 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in the code, an appeal shall lie from anyjudgement, sentence or order, not being interlocutory order, of a fast track court to the high court both on facts and on law(2) every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a period of thirty daysfrom the date of the judgement, sentence or order35power to make rules12 (1) the appropriate  government may, by notification in the official gazette, makerules for carrying out the purposes of this act40 45(2) every rule made by the central government under this act shall be laid, as soon asmay be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule(3) every rule made by the state governments under this act shall be laid, as soon asmay be after it is made, before the state legislature statement of objects and reasonsthe systemic flaws that pervade our judicial system have come into sharp focus in recent times india is infamous for its snail-paced judiciary and the gargantuan pendency of cases in the subordinate and high courts as on 31st december, 2011, a massive three crore cases were pending in the high courts and subordinate courts across the country; ten per cent of such cases were pending for more than a decadeat the level of the subordinate judiciary, criminal cases constitute seventy-one per cent of the total cases pending before the courts this shocking figure displays the apathy of the state towards the protection of its citizens the  ultimate aim of criminal law is the protection of personal liberty against invasion by others in the words of judge curtis-raleigh, "the law should not be seen to sit by limply, while those who defy it go free, and those who seek its protection lose hope"india has an overworked and understaffed judiciary according to the chief justice of india, there are six judges per million people in india, an abysmally low number as compared to developed countries; the united states of america boasts of a ratio as high as 125 judges per million people despite the report of the law commission in 1987, which had recommended immediately raising this ratio to 50, and to 100 by the year 2000, no significant steps have been takenthe judicial system needs a complete overhaul to facilitate fair trial and speedy justicehowever, it must be recognized that improving the entire system will require significant investment and political will until such time that a complete overhaul can be undertaken, at the very least, we can initiate changes by attacking the roots of the problemone of the most cancerous of these roots is the criminalization of politics as per the report of the association for democratic reforms, 76 of the 543 members elected to the lok sabha in 2009 had been charged with serious charges such as murder, rape and dacoity not only does this reflect poorly on the country, but it is also highly demoralizing for the general public there is an urgent need to break this criminal-political nexus, which can be facilitated only if criminal cases against elected representatives are expeditiously disposedunder the present system, political patronage and a 'culture of adjournment' collude to prevent speedy trial against elected representatives in a country where the judicial system is overburdened, a simple tweak would be to 'fast track' criminal cases against elected representatives with a mandate that all relevant cases be adjudicated within ninety days if this provision is put in place it will go a long way towards resolving the issue unlike some other proposals that bar candidates from contesting elections if charged with criminal cases, this solution does not vitiate the presumption of innocencethis bill seeks to establish fast track courts in all states and union territories of india with a mandate to ensure speedy trial of cases involving criminal offences by elected representatives cases involving elected representatives that are presently being tried across different courts in the country will stand transferred to the fast track courts having jurisdiction in the area barring exceptional circumstances, a fast track court shall complete trial within ninety days from the date of filing of charge-sheetto ensure that these fast track courts don't suffer from the same impediments as regular courts, this bill provides that the number of judges to be appointed to each court must be decided based on an objective criteria that takes into account caseload, pendency and most importantly, the percentage of cases that remain unresolved even after the stipulated deadline of ninety days this provision will act as a check on the power of the executive to change the judicial strength of these courtsfurthermore, to ensure that proceedings do not suffer due to ineffective or biased prosecution, this bill prescribes that the government must appoint public prosecutors with the 'concurrence' of the chief justice of the high court having jurisdiction in the area the number of prosecutors required for effective distribution of workload must also be decided based on an objective criteria, similar to the one used above this will reduce government discretion in appointment of prosecutorsall members of parliament (mps), members of state legislatures (mlas and mlcs)and members of panchayats and municipalities established under the state panchayati raj legislations are sought to be covered under the provisions of the bill this implies that all elected representatives at the centre, in the states and in local self-government institutions such as gram panchayats, block panchayats or panchayat samitis, district panchayats or zila parishads, nagar panchayats, municipal councils and municipal corporations will be subjected to the provisions of this billit is strongly felt that any attempt at decriminalizing politics will have to begin with this amendment this will go a long way in restoring the confidence of our people in the judiciary and in redeeming the commitment of the political class towards justicehence this billnew delhi;baijayant pandajuly 7, 2014 ———— president's recommendation under articles 117(1) and 117(3) of the constitution ————[copy of do no 15017/6/2013-jus(m) dated 1 september, 2014 from shri ravi shankar prasad, minister of law and justice and communications and information technology to the secretary-general, lok sabha]the president, having been informed of the subject matter of the fast track courts for elected representatives bill, 2014 by shri baijayant panda, member of parliament, recommends the introduction and consideration of the bill in lok sabha under clauses (1) and (3) of article 117, respectively, of the constitution financial  memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for the establishment of fast track courts by the central and state governments to deal exclusively with cases involving offences committed by elected representatives clause 4 provides that every fast track court shall be presided over by a judge to be appointed by the appropriate government it also provides for appointment of additional judges to the fast track courts by the appropriate government it further provides that the expenditure in respect of the salaries, allowances and pensions payable in respect of the judges and additional judges of the fast track courts shall be charged on the consolidated fund of the respective states and in respect of union territories on the consolidated fund of india clause 5 provides that the appropriate government shall appoint public prosecutors and additional public prosecutors for the purposes of this act clause 6 provides that the appropriate government shall provide adequate number of officers and staff to assist the fast track courts in their functioning the expenditure in respect of states shall be met out of the consolidated fund of the respective states however, the expenditure in respect of union territories shall be met out of the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a sum of rupees fifty crore will be involved as recurring expenditure per annuma non-recurring expenditure of rupees one hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 9 of the bill provides that the appropriate government may make rules for carrying out the purposes of this bill as the rules to be made relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character lok  sabha—————— a billto establish fast track courts for trial of cases involving criminal charges against elected representatives————(shri baijayant panda, mp)gmgipmrnd—1429ls(s3)—01-11-2014