The union law ministry today finalised the National Litigation Policy that seeks to deal with the problem of pendency of cases in the courts. The first file that Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal signed after taking charge of his ministry pertained to the new litigation policy.
The National Litigation Policy, which has been in the works for many years now, is a part of the 100-day agenda of the Modi government. It will soon be taken up for approval by the union cabinet.
Meghwal, who assumed charge as Minister of State (independent charge) of law and justice, marking a continuity in the ministry since he held the charge in the previous government too, said one of the main priorities for his ministry is to reduce pendency of cases and ensure speedier justice in the Supreme Court, high courts, lower courts, tribunals and consumer courts.
“There is the issue of ease of living that applies to all the stakeholders in the litigation process. All the stakeholders are a part of the process, which includes litigants and advocates,” the minister told reporters shortly after assuming charge.
The National Litigation Policy has been a project taken up by successive governments. During the tenure of UPA-II, in 2010, the then law minister M Veeerappa Moily had unveiled a litigation policy that aimed at cutting down government litigation. The aim of the policy was to reduce average pendency of cases from 15 years to three years. But it was not implemented and continued to hang fire. The policy was a part of the manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the data available on the National Judicial Data Grid, more than 4.48 crore cases are pending in courts across the country. Government litigation is believed to be one of the main contributors to the pendency.
