Patna, March 25: The plan to start three exclusive Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) courts in Patna has received a thrust from Patna High Court which has expedited the process of creating the post of judicial officers for the said courts.

Sources in the high court said the posts of judicial officers for the three proposed exclusive courts for the CBI in Patna have been created and the process of providing requisite infrastructural facilities to these courts was underway. The courts will enable the CBI try cases lodged under Prevention of Corruption Act.

A senior official of the high court said, “We think the process will be complete in a couple of months.” He said the exclusive CBI courts were under the active consideration of the high court. “Once the process is complete, it will be sent to the government for necessary action,” he added.

CBI officials admitted that the cases under Prevention of Corruption Act have piled up as the special CBI courts are overburdened. “As of now there is no exclu sive court in Patna to deal with the cases lodged by the agency under Prevention of Corruption Act,” a CBI officer said in Patna on Thursday.

On the contrary, Jharkhand has set up three exclusive CBI courts to conduct the trial of the cases under Prevention of Corruption Act on a priority basis. While two courts have been set up in Ranchi, one has been notified for Dhanbad, sources said.

Sources in the CBI said the central government approved the proposal for creation of 71 exclusive courts for the CBI across the country last year considering the rise in number of cases pending for disposal.

Sources said there was a substantial increase in the number of special reported cases under the jurisdiction of the Patna unit of the country’s premier investigating agency in the past five years.

About 300 cases, including those related to the animal husbandry department scam and the bitumen scam, are pending in different CBI-designate courts in Bihar.

While three CBI-designate courts headed by the additional district and sessions judge are located in Patna, one each headed by the judicial magistrate is situated in Patna and Muzaffarpur respectively.

Sources said that on an average, the Patna unit lodges 30-35 fresh cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act every year. “Though 35-40 cases are disposed on an average every year, cases have piled up in the past few years,” a CBI official said.