Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir on Monday directed the State High Courts to set up more fast-track courts for speedy disposal of cases of offences against women.
Advocating speedy trial in the December 16 gang-rape case, the CJI said that the delay in commencement of trials could be one of the factors behind rising cases of crimes against women.
On a previous occasion too, the CJI had said that a fast-track court particularly for trying sexual offences against women is not only necessary but also welcome and the government has also "woken up" to the need of fast track courts for such cases.
Kabir also justified the public reaction against the ghastly incident, saying the offence could have been averted had the Supreme Court guidelines on removal of tinted glasses from the vehicles been followed.
The CJI said that four other fast-track courts would be made operational in different parts of Delhi to show "we mean business in tackling matters of such nature".
In the aftermath of the shocking Delhi gang-rape case, the Centre and several state governments have decided to put in place a slew of measures such as increasing punishment for gang-rape, setting more fast-track courts, recruiting more women in police etc to combat crimes against women.
Among others measures, several states have launched a single dedicated helpline for women, adopted zero tolerance for petty offences and called for bringing down the age of juveniles to 16 from 18.
