Finance, railways, defence ministries among top 5 litigants in government

Union ministries of finance, railways, defence, labour and employment and home are the "top five litigants" amongst the government, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

In a written reply, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said seeking to reduce litigation, ministries and departments such as the railways and the Department of Revenue, involved in a high number of litigations, have been taking several measures for reducing the number of court cases.

Citing data available on the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) portal, he said the finance ministry has 1.73 lakh pending cases, including 9,062 in the Supreme Court.

The railways ministry has 1.08 lakh pending cases, including 554 in the top court, while the defence ministry has over 85,000 pending cases, which include 1,235 in the apex court.

The labour and employment ministry is party to over 78,000 pending cases, including 320 in the top court. The home ministry has over 23,000 pending cases in various courts and tribunals, including 968 in the Supreme Court.

Rijiju said the Ministry of Railways has issued instructions for effective monitoring of court cases at all levels.

Zonal railways and production units have been asked to take effective steps to reduce the number of cases in which the government is a party and reduce the burden of courts, expedite finalisation of all cases in all courts at the earliest, and cut down the expenditure in contesting court cases, he said.

"For achieving this, emphasis has been laid on effective monitoring of cases by having regular meetings with empanelled advocates, for briefing and necessary directions to be given at the highest level, besides ensuring timely submission of replies, counter replies and necessary documents to the advocates," the minister said.