ADMINISTRATION LAW
P.S.D.A.
APPLICATION OF RELIEF TO
GOVERNMENT
NAME : RAHUL NAIR
CLASS : 2-D
ENR. NO. : 16010303816
TO,
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
SUB:- RELIEF REGARDING PROBLEMS FACED IN GOVERNMENT LITIGATION.
RESPECTED SIR,
A brief introduction into the problems faced are stated herewith, pendency in Supreme Court-
60,750 cases, In High Courts- 40 lakhs cases in 2016.,In District and Subordinate Courts 2.74
crores cases in 2016. Government regarded to be the biggest contributor to litigation in India.
Approximately 46% of the total pending cases in courts pertains to the government. This
includes cases relating to Public Sector Undertakings and other autonomous bodies.
Government litigation includes service matters, disputes with private entities as well as inter-
se disputes between two government departments and disputes between two PSUs.
Some of the objectives are to create awareness about the severity of the problem. Convey the
concerns of the public in general. To see what steps have been taken by the different
departments to reduce pendency. To explore ways and means to reduce such pendency.
National litigation policies :- All States have formulated State Litigation Policies. NLP is
expected shortly. Provides mechanisms to ensure reduction in government litigation.
Addresses all three stages of dispute, viz. pre-litigation, litigation and post litigation stage.
Emphasis on exploring alternative means of dispute resolution.
Status of government litigation :- As per the information available on the LIMBS website, as
on June 12, 2017, 1,35,060 government cases (increased from 1,33,059 since last meeting on
June 8, 2017) and 369 contempt cases were pending. Railways with 66,685 cases pending has
the highest number of pending cases- 10,464 cases are pending for more than 10 years.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj with 3 pending cases has the least number of pending cases.
LIMBS is a dynamic website, so the data is constantly changing.
TOP 10 DEPARTMENTS WITH HIGHEST PENDANCY:-
S.NO. MINISTRY TOTAL CASES TOTAL CONTEMPT
CASES
1. Railway 67,332 241
2. Communication 12,621 21
3. Finance 15,646 5
4. Home Affairs 11,600 68
5. Defence 3,433 0
6. Health And Family Welfare 3,275 2
7. Urban Development 2,306 4
8. Labour And Employment 1,774 0
Analysis of the LIMBS DATA (11 AM Meeting):-
S.NO. MINISTRY TOTAL CASES TOTAL CONTEMPT
CASES
1. Ministry of Personnel, 542 0
Public Grievances And
Pensions
2. Ministry of Petroleum 19 1
And Natural Gas
3. Ministry of Power 115 0
4. Ministry of Road 30 0
Transport And
Highways
5. Ministry of Rural 29 0
Development
6. Ministry of Science 90 0
And Technology
7. Ministry of Shipping 35 0
8. Ministry of Skill 801 0
Development And
Entrepreneurship
Analysis of the LIMBS REPORTS DATA (12:30 PM Meeting):-
S.NO. MINISTRY TOTAL CASES TOTAL CONTEMPT
CASES
1. Ministry of Social 370 0
Justice And
Empowerment
2. Ministry of Statistics 6 0
And Programme
Implementation
3. Ministry of Steel 467 0
4. Ministry of Textiles 896 4
5. Ministry of Tourism 0 0
6. Ministry of Tribal 152 0
Affairs
7. Ministry of Urban 2,306 4
Development
8. Ministry of Water 245 1
Resources River
Development And
Ganga Rejuvenation
9. Ministry of Women 608 0
And Child
Development
10. Ministry of Youth 235 4
Affairs
11. Department of Space 24 1
STATUS OF PENDING CASES IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT:-
The following table provides the granular details of the number of cases pending in the
different departments and the information has been bifurcated into different time periods, i.e.
more than 10 years, 5-10 years, 3-5 years and more than 1 year, which is, as per the
information available on LIMBS.
There is discrepancy between the data available in the reports generated and the graphs
available on LIMBS and for certain departments, no information is available. They have also
been included in the table with the indicator that no report/information is available.
Pendency Status (11 AM Meeting):-
NAME MORE 5-10 YRS 3-5 YRS 1-3 YRS LESS TOTAL
THAN 10 THAN 1
YRS YR
Ministry of 0 1 1 3 0 5
Petroleum &
Natural Gas
Ministry of 7 9 20 17 2 55
Power
Department of 0 0 0 2 0 2
Rural
Development
Department of 4 14 32 23 1 74
Science &
Technology
Department of 1 1 0 1 0 3
Scientific &
Industrial
Research
Ministry of Skill 0 0 0 757 42 799
Development &
Entrepreneurship
Department of - - - - - -
Personnel and
Training
Department of - - - - - -
Administrative
Reforms and
Public
Grievances
Department of - - - - - -
Pension &
Pensioners
Welfare
Department of - - - - - -
Land Resources
Department of - - - - - -
Biotechnology
Ministry of - - - - - -
Shipping
Steps to reduce pendency :- Appointment of a nodal officer in every department at the Joint
Secretary Level to coordinate effective resolution of the disputes. Nodal Officer to regularly
monitor the status of the cases. Promotion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms-
encourage mediation as the preferred form of dispute resolution in service related matters
Appropriate guidelines in this regard may be drafted by the Government. Avoid unnecessary
filing of appeals- appeals should not be filed in routine matters-only in cases where there is a
substantial policy matter. An Intuitional ADR mechanism could be considered for resolution
of cases between the government and private bodies. All agreements to mandatorily include a
reference to either arbitration or mediation. Vexatious litigation should be immediately
withdrawn.
Online dispute resolution :- National Law School of India University, Bangalore in
collaboration with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has established an Online Consumer
Mediation Centre- Online platform with the motto ‘Anytime Anywhere Dispute Resolution’.
As a pilot programme, it is initially confined to mediation services for consumer disputes in
e-commerce only. Under this, once a complaint is lodged on the online platform, the
complaint is forwarded to the company and both parties get 30 days to amicably negotiate
and resolve the dispute. If the negotiation fails, then parties can opt for mediation. The
platform then appoints a third party neutral arbitrator- overall a person has 30 days
(extendable by another 15 days) from the start of the negotiation process to resolve the
dispute. This initiative/model may be replicated for resolving government disputes.
In case of government disputes- a similar platform may be developed wherein the
complainant (either an employee or a private) company will register their complaints. Once
the complaint is registered on the platform then it will be forwarded to the concerned
department. The nodal officer or a panel of officers as the case may be will be responsible for
initiating mediation. The mediation will be conducted through the designated online platform.
If no settlement is arrived upon within 30 days, then the matter to be referred to arbitration.
BEST PRACTISES OF SOME MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS:-
DRDO/Defence Ministry - Ministry of Defence had constituted an expert committee
in 2015 to monitor the cases and to analyse and propose changes to reduce litigation
in service matters, monthly monitoring of cases, introduction of mediation at the pre-
litigation stage, guidelines have been issued to the organisations/autonomous bodies
with a view to reduce litigation and contempt cases Service headquarters have been
designated certain powers and they have been empowered to take swift action in
service matters.
CBDT/Ministry of Finance - Income Tax Business Application- all the appeals are
now filed online- no manual intervention, Determined Monetary Threshold for Filing
of Appeals, A Collegiums of two CCIT has been formed and on their
recommendations the pending appeals which are considered irrelevant are being
withdrawn from the High Courts.
Central Committee to Decide on Settled Issues In this regard circulars have been
issued to the officers directing them to withdraw cases/appeals if it involves the issues
identified by the committee and that no further appeal are filed on the same,
Notices/circulars have been issued for providing information on the same to general
public, For the pending Appeal a two pronged approach is being followed: Based on
the methods adopted 325 Cases of 100 crores and above were addresses and were
disposed in the last 6-7 months.
CBEC/Ministry of Finance - Threshold Limit Defined for Filing of Appeals
(exception a challenge made on the constitutional validity of any legislative provision
or against any circular/notification of the Department).
Pre-SCN (Show Cause Notice) Consultation Settlement Commission ,Authority of
Advanced Ruling: Public Limited Companies, Public Sector Undertaking, Joint
Venture, Limited Legal Partnerships can approach the authority for seeking ruling in
their dispute/cases. Such rulings are applicable to concerned party and commissioner
of appeal.
A limit of 70 cases has to been decided by the Department for disposal by the
commissioner of appeal per month and Dedicated Panel of Advocates Planning to
formulate more policies for fixing monetary limits for commissioner of appeals on
the same terms as those set for CESTAT.
Thanking you
Yours Sincerely,
Rahul Nair
