The government has spent more than Rs 400 crore to contest court cases during the past 10 years, official data showed.

The central government’s Rs 66 crore expenditure on litigations in the 2023-24 financial year was over Rs 9 crore higher than the previous fiscal.

The amount incurred on litigations has gone up since 2014-15, barring two fiscals when the COVID pandemic was at its peak, according to data shared by the government with the Lok Sabha in response to a question in the ongoing Budget session.

In 2014-15, the cost incurred on litigations stood at Rs 26.64 crore while the expenditure for 2015-16 was Rs 37.43 crore.

Between the 2014-15 and the 2023-24 financial years, the government spent more than Rs 409 crore on litigations.

Separately, the law ministry had earlier this month told the Rajya Sabha that the central government is a party in nearly seven lakh cases pending across courts, with the Finance Ministry alone being one of the litigants in nearly two lakh cases.

Citing data available on Legal Information Management & Briefing System (LIMBS), Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “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 government is working on a national litigation policy that seeks to expedite the resolution of pending cases. A draft of the proposed policy will go before the Union Cabinet for a final call.

The policy has been drafted and redrafted for several years, with successive governments deliberating on its contours

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