In a recent ruling, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has urged the Central Government to expedite the implementation of National Litigation Policy.
The Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chanfra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that, “After all, the essence of any policy lies in its implementation; a well-drafted policy is merely the blueprint, the actual structure comes to life only when the tenor it promotes is adopted and internalised within the governing body.”
While addressing a batch of appeals against the orders passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal as also the Trial Court qua a property dispute involving the Cement Corporation of India Limited, a public service undertaking.
While deciding the matters on merits, the Delhi High Court expressed deep anguish by the approach adopted by the Indian Railways and Cement Corporation in their defence.
Taking note of the judgments of the Supreme Court that noted the lack of litigation strategy, the Delhi High Court observed that, “The overwhelming majority of cases currently clogging the judicial system involve either the Central Government, State Governments, or public sector undertakings (PSUs). In a pivotal move to tackle this pressing issue, the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, convened a national consultation on 24th and 25th October, 2009, specifically aimed at mitigating judicial delay and reducing backlogs of cases. This led to the formulation of the National Litigation Policy, 2010 Regrettably, this well-conceived policy is yet to witness its implementation.
It was also observed that, “However, definitive timelines regarding its finalisation and subsequent implementation were conspicuously absent. Simultaneously, the Court held that the Union of India overlooked crucial steps in the “Action Plan to Reduce Government Litigation” formulated on 13th June 2017. This plan emphasises that appeals should only be filed in cases which touch upon significant policy matters and vexatious litigation should be promptly withdrawn.”
At the core of these judicial observations lies a persistent call for a comprehensive ‘National Litigation Policy’, which would mandate a cohesive approach by both the Central and State Governments, as well as PSUs, in initiating and prosecuting legal matters, the High Court bench further stated.
Kirtiman Singh, CGSC, admitted that no formal ‘National Litigation Policy’ is currently operative within the Government’s administrative ambit. He further conceded that the much-heralded 2010 Policy remains, regretfully, unimplemented. As it stands today, there is no operative ‘National Litigation Policy’ or ‘Guidelines’.
The Court remarked that the judiciary is inundated with cases, of which many can be described as frivolous, and sometimes even laden with false assertions. While imposing costs can serve in balancing the scales for private parties, as an effective deterrent mechanism, it does little to fix the systemic issues at play when the Government is at fault.
Observing that, “More than a decade has passed since the discussion on the issue of a litigation policy commenced and it is unclear as to when the proposed framework or guidelines will be in place”, the Delhi High Court ruled that “The government must prepare a time-bound action plan for implementation of the ‘National Litigation Policy’ or the guidelines that are under contemplation”, directing the registry to communicate a copy of the judgement to the Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India, for necessary action, also to transmit a copy of this judgement to Secretary, Department of Law, Justice & Legislative Affairs, Government of NCT of Delhi, for due consideration.
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