National Litigation Policy to reverse image of govt as biggest

Members of a Parliamentary committee today expressed concern at government being the biggest litigant as Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said that the proposed National Litigation Policy will reverse the image.
The minister said the proposed policy will bring in a mechanism to reduce government litigation and to make it an efficient and responsible litigant.
Responding to concerns raised by members of the parliamentary Consultative Committee on Law and Justice, Gowda said the policy suggests a mechanism to reduce filing of cases by or against the government.
It also aims to transform government as an institution which does not believe in entering into unnecessary and avoidable litigation by taking appropriate steps at pre-litigation stage itself.

During the meeting, members like Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) and Aayanur Manjunatha (BJP) said there is a dire need to change the arbitration system and emphasised that there should be a fixed timeframe for any arbitration proceeding.
They also vouched for the cost effectiveness of the entire process. The members stressed on taking action against government counsels for their "casual approach" during the litigation process and said that a provision be made for submitting the status report of court cases by the nodal officers to the head of departments on a regular basis.
A presentation made during the meeting to highlight the need to have a litigation policy showed that due to very high number of pending court cases in different courts this has become an utmost necessity, a statement by the ministry said.