House panel to examine National Litigation Policy despite Centre shelving plan

A parliamentary standing committee has decided to examine the formulation and implementation of a National Litigation Policy in 2026-27, despite the Union government's decision last year to abandon the proposed policy and instead issue directives aimed at reducing litigation involving Central ministries, departments and public sector undertakings.

The newly reconstituted Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar, has included the subject among those selected for examination during the year, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on Wednesday.

Parliamentary committees generally finalise subjects for examination during their initial meetings based on suggestions received from members.

The decision brings renewed attention to a long-pending proposal intended to reduce the government's involvement in court cases, even though the Law Ministry had concluded that issuing administrative directives would be more appropriate than introducing a formal national policy.

𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆

The Centre had been working for several years on a comprehensive National Litigation Policy to reduce the number of cases involving government departments and public sector undertakings.

However, the Ministry of Law and Justice dropped the proposal in 2025 after concluding that a policy specifically addressing government litigation would not apply to private litigants.

A senior ministry functionary had explained that the government could not prevent citizens from approaching courts and that measures confined to government departments would be more appropriately described as administrative directives.

"The term policy cannot be used if it is applicable only to the government, its ministries and departments and not to private litigation. Something which is not universally applicable cannot be termed as a policy," the official had said.

The official also maintained that the word "directive" conveyed greater administrative force than "guideline", which was considered too general.

Another consideration was that a formal national policy would require Union Cabinet approval, with subsequent amendments also potentially requiring Cabinet clearance.

𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

In April 2025, the Department of Legal Affairs issued the "Directive for the Efficient and Effective Management of Litigation by the Government of India", replacing the proposed policy framework.

The directive was cleared by a committee of secretaries and provides for annual reviews to assess implementation and identify necessary changes.

It seeks to simplify legal procedures, reduce unnecessary court cases, prevent unwarranted appeals and address inconsistencies in government notifications and orders that frequently lead to litigation.

The document also recognises that ineffective implementation of government decisions can result in intended beneficiaries being excluded or unintended beneficiaries receiving benefits.

"Sometimes, the ineffective implementation of these may lead to the exclusion of intended beneficiaries or the unintended ones being benefited. In some cases, affected parties may perceive certain decisions as unfair and pursue legal recourse through litigation," the directive stated.

It emphasised the need for Central ministries, departments and public sector undertakings to improve administrative decision-making and implementation to prevent avoidable legal disputes.

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝟳 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀

The scale of government litigation had been highlighted in Parliament in February 2025, when the Law Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that the Centre was a party to nearly seven lakh cases pending across courts.

According to information available on the Legal Information Management and Briefing System, the Ministry of Finance alone was involved in approximately 1.9 lakh cases.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had told the Upper House, "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 figures underscored the government's substantial involvement in litigation and the need for better coordination among departments to avoid repetitive or unnecessary legal proceedings.

The Law Ministry subsequently identified minimising unwarranted appeals and correcting inconsistencies in official notifications and orders as key measures for reducing the litigation burden.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟬

Efforts to formulate a National Litigation Policy began during the second United Progressive Alliance government, when then law minister M Veerappa Moily prepared a framework intended to reduce court pendency.

An official statement issued on June 23, 2010, said the government had formulated the policy under the National Legal Mission, with the objective of reducing the average pendency period of cases from 15 years to three years.

The proposed policy recognised that the government and its agencies were among the predominant litigants before courts and tribunals.

However, the initiative failed to progress through the necessary approval process. Although Moily formulated the policy, it was not initially sent to the Union Cabinet, and no decision was subsequently taken when the document was placed before it.

Successive governments continued to deliberate on revised versions of the proposal before the Centre ultimately adopted administrative directives in 2025.

The parliamentary committee's decision to revisit the subject now places the government's litigation management framework under renewed scrutiny, with the panel expected to examine the approach adopted to reduce avoidable cases and improve the handling of legal disputes involving public authorities.