NEW DELHI (India CSR): There are more than 636,000 cases involving the central government pending before various courts in the country, of which the finance and railways ministries rank at the top among 56 ministries, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Lok Sabha on Friday in a response to a question raised in the Parliament.
Expenditure Incurred by the Legal Affairs Dept. on Pending Cases
The Department of Legal Affairs, which is the nodal ministry that conducts litigation on behalf of the central government before the Supreme Court, high courts and other courts including tribunals, the total expenditure incurred on conducting these cases was Rs.54.35 crore in the year 2022-23, Meghwal said in a written response.
Total Litigation Expenses over the Last Five Years
The total expenses incurred over the last five years, beginning from 2018, comes to a little over Rs.272 crore, the statement said.
Nature and Details of Pending Cases Requested by Lok Sabha MP
His response came on a question asked by Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Singh who wished to know the percentage of cases involving the Union government as a party, the expenditure incurred by the Centre in conducting these cases every year, the nature of these cases and the courts where they are pending, the ministries involved along with year-wise break-up.
Data Compilation and Management by the Legal Info Management and Briefing System
Meghwal informed the Parliament that the data requested in the manner above was not maintained by the government. However, he shared the information gathered by the government’s web interface ‘Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS)’, created by the Department of Legal Affairs in 2016 to monitor government litigation before various courts and tribunals.
Key Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total number of cases involving central government pending | Over 636,000 |
| Top ministries involved in cases | Finance and Railways |
| Expenditure on litigation in 2022-23 | Rs.54.35 crore |
| Total litigation expenditure from 2018 to 2023 | Over Rs.272 crore |
| Total number of cases tracked by LIMBS | 636,605 |
| Number of cases involving the Finance Ministry | 179,464 |
| Number of cases involving the Defence Ministry | 87,543 |
| Number of cases involving the Labour and Employment Ministry | 80,117 |
| Number of cases involving the Ministry of Home Affairs | 23,012 |
| Number of cases involving the Education Ministry | Over 17,000 |
| Number of cases involving the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare | 3,665 |
| Number of cases involving the Corporate Affairs Ministry | 10,426 |
| Status of National Litigation Policy (NLP) | Yet to be finalised |
Pending Cases Involvement of Various Ministries
As per the information compiled by LIMBS, the total number of cases stood at 636,605. Of this, the finance ministry is alone involved in 179,464 litigations; the defence ministry is involved in 87,543 cases; the labour and employment ministry has 80,117 cases; the ministry of home affairs accounts for 23,012 cases and the education ministry is a party in over 17,000 cases, which are pending, he said.
Pending Cases in the Ministry of Agriculture and Corporate Affairs
The ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare, despite boasting of a significantly large workforce in the country, has a litigation share of 3,665 cases while the corporate affairs ministry, dealing with companies having the luxury to litigate has 10,426 cases pending.
Unclear Case Classification on LIMBS Portal
The information provided by the Union law minister does not specify whether the information available on the LIMBS portal is of cases filed by the government departments or extends to even public interest litigations (PIL) where the government is a necessary party.
Queries Regarding the Status of National Litigation Policy
The question raised in Parliament also wished to know the status of the national litigation policy (NLP) and whether the government is keen on reviewing it. The response by the Minister said that the NLP is yet to be finalised.
