The Indian government has spent over Rs 400 crore on litigation in the past decade, with expenses rising annually, particularly in the last financial year. A National Litigation Policy is being developed to address this issue.
The Indian government has spent more than Rs 400 crore on court cases over the past decade, with litigation expenses steadily increasing, official data revealed.
In the 2023-24 financial year, the government spent Rs 66 crore on legal battles, which is over Rs 9 crore higher than the previous year’s expenditure.
According to data presented in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget session, the litigation expenses have increased every year since 2014-15, except for two fiscals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- 2014-15: Rs 26.64 crore
- 2015-16: Rs 37.43 crore
- 2014-15 to 2023-24 (Total Litigation Cost): Rs 409 crore
In a separate response in Rajya Sabha, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal revealed that the central government is a party in nearly seven lakh cases across Indian courts.
Of these, the Ministry of Finance alone is involved in approximately 1.9 lakh cases, making it one of the biggest litigants.
Citing data from the Legal Information Management & Briefing System (LIMBS), Meghwal stated:
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“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.”
To expedite case resolution, the government is drafting a National Litigation Policy, which will soon be reviewed by the Union Cabinet.
The policy has been in discussion for several years, with successive governments working on its framework to reduce the burden of pending legal cases.
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