New Delhi: The central government has spent over Rs 400 crore on litigation expenses in the past decade, with costs rising significantly in recent years, official data presented in Parliament has revealed.
In the 2023-24 financial year alone, litigation costs amounted to Rs 66 crore, marking an increase of over Rs 9 crore from the previous fiscal. The data, shared in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget session, showed that litigation expenses have generally increased since 2014-15, except for two years when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted court proceedings.
In 2014-15, the government’s litigation expenditure stood at Rs 26.64 crore, rising to Rs 37.43 crore in 2015-16. Over the 10-year period from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the total expenditure exceeded Rs 409 crore.
Meanwhile, the Law Ministry has disclosed that the central government is involved in nearly seven lakh pending cases across various courts. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, citing data from the Legal Information Management & Briefing System (LIMBS), stated, “There are about seven lakh cases pending where the Government of India is a party. Out of these, in about 1.9 lakh cases, the Ministry of Finance is mentioned as a party.”
The government is in the process of finalising a national litigation policy aimed at expediting case resolution. A draft policy is expected to be presented before the Union Cabinet for approval, following years of discussions and revisions.