Over 24,000 rape, sexual harassment cases in SC, High Courts

New Delhi: Over 24,000 cases related to rape and sexual harassment are pending in the Supreme Court and various High Courts of the country, with Uttar Pradesh leading the tally with 8,215, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

The Centre has requested the chief justices of the 21 High Courts to set up fast track courts for speedy trial of pending rape cases in district and subordinate courts with a high pendency. The government has also requested them to monitor the progress of the cases to ensure timely disposal, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said in a written reply. According to the Law Ministry statement, out of a total of 24,127 cases, 335 are pending in the apex court as on February 28. Amongst the High Courts, 8,215 cases are pending in the Allahabad High Court as on September 30, 2012. 3,758 cases are pending in Madhya Pradesh High Court, 2,717 in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, 1,533 in Chhattisgarh, 1,080 in Orissa, 1,164 in Rajasthan, 1,009 in the Bombay High Court and 924 in the Delhi High Court. The Jharkhand High Court has 822 cases related to rape and sexual harassment pending, while Patna High Court has 797 cases before it. Kerala HC has 420 cases, Andhra Pradesh HC 269, Karnataka HC 243 cases, Gujarat HC 230 cases, Madras HC 179 cases, Himachal Pradesh HC 177, Gauhati 174, Jammu and Kashmir 28, Calcutta 27, Uttarakhand 26. The Sikkim HC has no such case pending before it. PTI