Lok Sabha Question No. 561 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Court Cases Involving Government
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Vijay Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 561 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 16 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## COURT CASES INVOLVING GOVERNMENT

## †561. SHRI VIJAY KUMAR:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to implement any alternative system to dispose off those cases out of the court wherein Government is also a party and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed the number of such cases wherein Government is also a party;
- (c)  if  so,  the  number  of  such  cases  pending  in  the  Subordinate  Courts  and Supreme Court as on date; and
- (d) the percentage of such cases out of the total number of pending cases?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a)     : The Government has been in the forefront to promote alternative system to dispose off cases out of the court not only where the Government is a party but also between private parties. Legal framework for resolution of disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has been provided under Section 89 CPC. Besides, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 recourse to ADR can be taken under Companies  Act,  2013, Commercial  Courts  Act,  2015, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to

name a few. By recourse to ADR mechanism provided under law, the parties can resolve their dispute outside the Courts.

As regards commercial disputes, where both parties are Government/Department or where one party is Government/Department and other is  its  instrumentalities (CPSEs/Boards/Authorities, etc.), the Department of Legal Affairs has issued a guideline namely, 'Administrative Mechanism for Resolution of Disputes (AMRD)'. The AMRD applies to any/all dispute(s), other than those related to taxation, between Central Government Ministries/Departments and other Ministries/ Departments/Organisation(s)/Subordinate/Attached Offices/ Autonomous and Statutory Bodies, etc., under their administrative supervision/control.

(b):  The  Legal  Information Management & Briefing System (LIMBS) Ver.2 has been developed by NIC. It is a web-based application for the monitoring of Court Cases  wherein  Union  of  India  is  a  party.  However,  as  LIMBS  Ver.2  has  been developed recently and is currently under updation, it is seen that as on 14.09.2020, 4.71 lakh court cases have been entered by the various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

(c):  As  on  date,  out  of  the  cases  entered  by  the  user  Ministries/Departments  in LIMBS Ver.2, 89202 cases are pending in the Subordinate Courts and 15431 cases are pending in the Supreme Court.

(d): As per the data entered till date by the user Ministries/Department in LIMBS Ver.2,  the  percentage  of  cases  pending  in  the  Subordinate  Courts  and  Supreme Court to the total number of pending cases is 22.22%.