Thomas happy with FTCs, speedy justice

Newly-appointed Minister of State for Law and Justice P.C. Thomas is candid when he says he met his senior Cabinet Minister Arun Jaitley for...

Newly-appointed Minister of State for Law and Justice P.C. Thomas is candid when he says he met his senior Cabinet Minister Arun Jaitley for only two hours after he took over last weekend, but ‘‘he is happy with the progress of the new initiatives taken by his ministry to speed up delivery of justice.’’

Speaking to reporters in the capital, Thomas, founder of the Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP), outlined the achievements of the Law Ministry in setting up the fast track courts (FTCs), to speed up disposal of long pending cases. ‘‘The FTCs have decided on an average 40 cases per year and this should improve,’’ he said.

Giving details, he said, ‘‘Today there are 1,025 FTCs across the country, and of the 2,14,220 cases transferred to them, 81,589 cases have been disposed of.’’

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The Centre too has released Rs 359.36 crores of the promised Rs 500 crores for the establishment of 1,734 FTCs and he added, so far 1,334 such courts have been set up.

He is equally optimistic about the urgently-needed reforms in the judiciary and said a comprehensive Bill on Judicial Reforms will soon be placed before Parliament.

The press conference was arranged at the residence of party general-secretary and MP Pappu Yadav, which also serves as the IFDP office.

On the IFDP agenda, Thomas said it wanted a constant interaction between the majority and minority communities to avoid any communal confrontation. ‘‘Our party will thrive to organise such interactions,’’ the Minister said.

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