The Parliamentary Committee report reveals that 27% of the Centre’s litigation comes from the Finance Ministry while 12 out of 25 High Court ASG posts remain vacant. The panel also highlighted funding shortages, rising litigation costs, and staff vacancies in key legal institutions.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law & Justice has recently released its 164th report, which highlights serious financial shortages, increasing litigation burden on the government, and the need to strengthen legal and institutional systems.
The report mainly examines the Union Law Ministry’s Budget for 2026–27 and reviews budget allocation, pending litigation, staff shortages, and institutional functioning. The report gives an important insight into how the government’s legal system is functioning and where improvements are needed.
One of the most important findings of the report is the major funding shortfall faced by the Law Ministry. The Ministry had projected that it would require ₹7,026.527 crore for the financial year 2026–27. However, the government allocated only ₹4,709.06 crore at the budget estimates stage.
This means there is a shortfall of ₹2,317.467 crore, which is nearly 33% less than what was required. The report also shows that the Ministry’s budget has actually been reduced compared to the previous year. For 2025–26, the revised estimate was ₹5,389.87 crore, but for 2026–27 the allocation has been reduced to ₹4,709.06 crore. This shows a reduction of ₹680.81 crore, which is about 12.63% less than the previous year.
Out of the total budget allocated to the Law Ministry, the Department of Justice has received the largest share of ₹2,968.84 crore, which is about 63% of the total allocation. The Legislative Department has received ₹1,322.46 crore, which is around 28.08%, while the Department of Legal Affairs has received ₹417.76 crore, which is about 8.87% of the total allocation.
The Department of Legal Affairs had projected that it would need ₹505.145 crore for the year 2026–27, but it has been allocated only ₹417.76 crore, which means there is a shortfall of ₹87.385 crore, or about 17.29%.
The report also highlights the rising litigation expenses of the Central Government. According to the report, the Centre has spent ₹619.65 crore on litigation in the last ten years. In the financial year 2025–26 alone, ₹74 crore has already been spent on litigation till December.
This clearly shows that the government’s legal expenses are continuously increasing. The report also reveals that as on December 31, 2025, there are a total of 7,14,411 cases pending in various courts and tribunals involving different ministries and departments of the government.
Among all ministries, the Ministry of Finance has the highest number of pending cases, with 1,94,603 cases, which is about 27% of the total pending cases. The Ministry of Railways has the second highest number of pending cases, with 1,11,962 cases, which is around 15% of the total cases.
The Ministries of Defence and Labour also have a large number of pending cases in courts and tribunals. Because of this heavy litigation burden, the Committee has suggested that ministries and departments that have a large number of court cases should conduct regular internal reviews to find out the reasons behind unnecessary litigation.
The Committee has advised departments to reduce unnecessary appeals, improve coordination between departments, and take steps to reduce pending cases and legal expenses in a long-term and sustainable manner.
The report also points out serious vacancies in important legal institutions. The sanctioned strength of the Indian Legal Service is 125 officers, but only 55 are currently in service, leaving 70 posts vacant. Similarly, out of 25 sanctioned posts of Additional Solicitor General for High Courts, only 13 are filled and 12 posts are vacant.
The Law Commission of India is also facing a staff shortage, with only 2 officers in service against a sanctioned strength of 11. These vacancies show that there is a serious shortage of legal officers in important government legal institutions, which may affect the handling of government litigation and legal work.
The report also discusses the budget allocation and infrastructure development of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The ITAT has been allocated ₹190.16 crore for the year 2026–27, while it had projected a requirement of ₹230.625 crore.
The report also mentions that infrastructure projects are ongoing at several places and include construction and purchase of premises in cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow. The report reviews how funds are being used and the progress of these infrastructure projects.
The report also mentions lawyers on the government panel, which include Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocates Vivek Tankha, Kapil Sibal, Kalyan Banerjee and PP Chaudhary.
Overall, the 164th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee shows that the Law Ministry is facing financial shortages, increasing litigation expenses, and shortage of legal staff. The Committee has suggested better financial planning, reduction of unnecessary litigation, filling up of vacancies, and strengthening of legal institutions so that the government’s legal system can function more efficiently and reduce the burden on courts as well as public money.
This report is important because it highlights structural problems in government litigation management and the need for long-term institutional reforms in India’s legal administration system.
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