Women's security will be given more priority… we have made strict provisions for transferring the laws in order to prevent crimes against women, in particular in a time-bound investigation and trial for rape. In such cases, forensic facilities and fast track courts will be expanded to bring convicts to justice.

A note on the claim first. This entry was imported as a promise of "1,000 dedicated special courts". The manifesto does not name a number. What it says, under women's security, is that "in a time-bound investigation and trial for rape… forensic facilities and fast track courts will be expanded to bring convicts to justice." The figure of 1,023 comes from the scheme the government launched six months later, and that is the right benchmark to use — but it is the government's target, not the manifesto's, and we have corrected the claim text accordingly.

The scheme is real and it was built. The Department of Justice told the Lok Sabha on 31 July 2026 that "A Centrally Sponsored Scheme to set up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) courts, was launched in October, 2019… Initially, the Scheme was for the establishment of 1,023 FTSCs, including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts."

Two things then happened. The scheme was extended twice rather than completed — the last extension ran to 31 March 2026 and it is now on a temporary extension to 30 September 2026. And the target was reduced: the current extension is "for establishment of 790 FTSCs", down from 1,023. Against that lowered target, delivery is close to full: "as of 30.06.2026, 779 FTSCs, including 399 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts, were functional in 29 States/UTs." Measured against the original 1,023, it is 76 per cent.

The courts have worked. Since inception they "have disposed of 3,96,940 cases", with disposal running at 84,359 cases in 2024-25 and 62,884 in 2025-26. ₹1,259.51 crore has been released to states to run them. Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres are being used within court complexes for child witnesses.

The part of the promise that has not been met is the phrase that carries the point: "time-bound". As of 30 June 2026, "2,56,097 cases remain pending" before these courts. At the 2025-26 disposal rate that is about four years of work, before counting new filings — in courts created specifically so that rape and child sexual abuse trials would not take years.

The government points to an impact evaluation by NITI Aayog which, the answer says, "observed that the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) Scheme has demonstrated significant effectiveness in achieving its objectives of expeditious justice, reducing pendency, and providing a supportive environment for victims of sexual offences". The answer does not give the evaluation's figures, and no CAG performance audit of the scheme has been tabled, so there is no independent measure of average time to trial — the number that would settle this.

Courts were promised, courts were built, and they are disposing of cases in large numbers. The target was quietly reduced by 233 courts, the scheme is six years into what was meant to be a one-year rollout, and a quarter of a million cases are still waiting. Our verdict is partly accurate.