GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 755
ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026
HIGH EXPENDITURE ON LITIGATION
755 Shri S Niranjan Reddy:
Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government is aware of number of cases that are pending in courts across States
with the UOI as a litigant, involving Ministries of...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 755 ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026 HIGH EXPENDITURE ON LITIGATION 755 Shri S Niranjan Reddy:
Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government is aware of number of cases that are pending in courts across States with the UOI as a litigant, involving Ministries of Finance, Defence, Railways and Labour & Employment.
(b) whether Government’s annual litigation expenditure has increased from Rs. 26.64 crore in 2014-15 to 66.57 crore in 2023-24;
(c) whether the Department of Legal Affairs has proposed meetings with Ministries to identity the reasons for litigation and pendency; and
(d) the measures taken to reduce litigation, improve inter-ministerial coordination and contain litigation costs of the Government? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)
(a) and (b) The data relating to cases pending in Courts involving Ministries of Finance, Defence, Railways and Labour & Employment are as under: - PENDING COURT CASES ON LIMBS AS ON DATE 29-01-2026 S. N. MINISTRY PENDING CASES 1 FINANCE 204765 2 DEFENCE 95498 3 INDIAN RAILWAYS 119142 4 LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT 77005 TOTAL 496410Further, as per the available data, the annual litigation expenditure of the Government for the year 2014-15 was ₹ 26.64 crore and for the year 2023-24 was ₹ 66.57 crore.
(c) and (d) The Department of Legal Affairs on 04.04.2025 has issued to all Ministries/Departments 'Directives for the Efficient & Effective Management of Litigation by Government of India'. The objective of the Directives is to streamline the administrative steps involved in the conduct of litigation and for strengthening better coordination for timely outcomes.