Key Facts

The Tamil Nadu government has ordered the creation of 30 new fast-track courts to speed up trials in cases of crimes against women and children and in narcotics cases: 12 new courts exclusively for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 14 additional courts, and 3 new special courts under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, along with one more additional court for NDPS cases. With this expansion, the number of POCSO courts functioning in the state rises from 22 to 52. The move follows a review meeting held by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on the pendency of cases, at which it emerged that more than 18,700 POCSO cases were pending in Tamil Nadu as of June 2026, and that a 2023 Madras High Court proposal to set up POCSO courts in eight districts, including Erode, Tiruppur and Krishnagiri, had not been acted upon.

GK Context

The POCSO Act, 2012 provides for child-friendly procedures for reporting, recording evidence, investigation and trial of sexual offences against minors, and the Supreme Court in 2019 had directed the setting up of exclusive POCSO courts in every district having more than 100 pending cases, with funding shared between the Centre and the states. Fast-track special courts (FTSCs), funded partly through a central scheme, are intended to clear backlogs in sensitive categories of cases such as crimes against women, children, and drug offences, reflecting a continuing national push to reduce judicial pendency in such matters.