57% of Pending Government Litigation Involves Finance, Railways, Defence Ministries: Law Ministry Data

57% of Pending Government Litigation Involves Finance, Railways, Defence Ministries: Law Ministry Data

According to data provided by the Law Ministry, over 57% of the 6.98 lakh pending court cases involving the Union government pertain to three key ministries: Finance, Railways, and Defence. The information was shared in response to a query from BJP MP Neeraj Shekhar in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Minister of State (independent charge) for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, noted that the data on pending government litigation is "dynamic and kept changing." The data, sourced from the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS), showed that as of July 19, the Ministry of Finance had the highest number of pending cases, totaling 1.89 lakh. The Railways followed with 1.14 lakh cases, and the Defence Ministry had 95,467 cases pending.

The Labour and Employment Ministry reported 79,988 pending cases, while the Ministry of Home Affairs had 24,409 cases. The largest number of these cases were pending in tribunals (2.75 lakh), followed by high courts (2.53 lakh), and the Supreme Court (17,779 cases).

Minister Meghwal emphasized that while reducing the backlog of cases is primarily within the judiciary's purview, the Central government is committed to aiding the speedy resolution of cases. The government continues to provide support to ensure the efficient adjudication of these cases, which remain a significant portion of the country's overall litigation burden.