1. Directive for the Efficient and Effective Management of Litigation by the GOI:

In furtherance of the Government of India’s policy to prevent, regulate, and reduce litigation involving the Union of India, the Department of Legal Affairs (DLA), Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, has issued the “Directive for the Efficient and Effective Management of Litigation by the Government of India” on 4th April, 2025. This Directive has been developed pursuant to the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. It shall be applicable to all Ministries and Departments of the Central Government, including their attached and subordinate offices, autonomous bodies, as well as Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in matters pertaining to arbitration.

The Directive adopts a comprehensive approach in reinforcing the goal of good governance, ensuring public welfare, and facilitating the timely dispensation of justice. It aims to introduce stringent measures to simplify legal procedures, prevent unnecessary litigation, address inconsistencies in notifications and orders, minimise unwarranted appeals, streamline inter-departmental coordination in litigation, ensure greater public accountability in arbitration matters, and establish a robust Knowledge Management System (KMS) to improve and enhance the efficiency of legal processes.

2.      Appointment/Empanelment of Law Officers in the year 2025:

• Re-appointment Sh. R. Venkataramani, Attorney General has been done for further period of two years.
• Three New Post of Additional Solicitor General for Indian in Supreme Court of India has been created, Notified and filled up.
• Nine Deputy Solicitor General of India in Various High Courts / Benches of High Courts, have engaged afresh and term of Five Dy.SGI has been extended.
• A total of 3877 Advocates empanelled or their terms as panel counsel have been extended for various courts / tribunals in the country. 
• Resignations of 25 panel counsel have been processed.

 

3).     Nomination of Arbitration panel counsel in domestic as well International commercial disputes, involving Government/PSE on the one hand and PSE/private party on the other:

Requests are received regarding engagement of Arbitration Panel Counsel to represent various Ministries / Departments in arbitration cases. During the said period, in response to such requests, Arbitration Panel Counsel have been engaged in about 100 arbitration cases.

4).     Entering into Treaties and Agreements with foreign countries in matters of civil law:

 

Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, is the nodal Ministry for reciprocal arrangement with foreign countries. In addition to this, Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs undergoes various agreements on legal co-operation under civil law with other countries. Under this obligation, during 2025, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties in civil and commercial matters with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has been signed. Furhther to the same, Visit of a delegation has been organized dated 23rd December, 2025 (Photo Attached).  

 

5).     Examination and processing of requests arising out of bilateral treaties in respect of service of summons etc. (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties/reciprocal arrangements) and multilateral treaties (the Hague convention of 1965/1971):

M/o Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs is the Central Authority under Hague Convention, 1965 and 1971 for servicing of summons/notices and for taking of evidence in Civil & Commercial matters for service abroad of judicial & extra judicial documents in civil and commercial matters. Under this obligation, during the said period, about 3200 requests have been processed.

6).     Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR):

India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) has been established under the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019, for the purpose of creating an independent, autonomous and world class body for facilitating institutional arbitration and to declare the Centre to be an institution of national importance. The Centre provides a dispute resolution platform for resolution of commercial disputes through arbitration. The Centre is envisaged to become a model arbitral institution in the country, thereby paving the way for enhancing the quality of institutional framework for arbitration. The Centre has empanelled 97 Arbitrators for International Arbitration and 271 for Domestic Arbitration.

The Centre has organized following conferences during 2025;

1. Colloquium on the theme “International Arbitration: Indian Perspective” on 1^st March, 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
2. Conference of the senior officials of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) on the theme “Institutional Arbitration: An Effective Framework For Dispute Resolution” on 14 June 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
3. Partner event during the Singapore Convention Week 2025 on the theme “Selection of Arbitrators in India related disputes” at Singapore on 28 August 2025.
4. Webinar on Institutional Arbitration: An Appropriate Dispute Resolution Mechanism, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO), on 24^th September, 2025.

 

The Centre has further signed the following Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during 2025;

1. MOU between IIAC and Asian African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) for collaboration
2. MOU between IIAC and Paryaya ADR Society, Law Centre-I, University of Delhi for collaboration.

IIAC launched its inaugural edition of the IIAC Annual Magazine on 09 December 2025, for diffusion of knowledge of law and procedures on alternative dispute resolution and related matters, both domestic and international.

The Centre has also notified the India International Arbitration Centre (Transaction of Business of Committee) Regulations, 2025 and Amendments to the India International Arbitration Centre (Criteria for the Admission to the Panel of Arbitrators) Regulations, 2023

The Department of Legal Affairs is administratively also concerned with the Mediation Act 2023, Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 and Commercial Act, 2015 wherein the Department continues to take legislative & policy interventions to enhance the commercial dispute resolution ecosystem.

 

7).     LIMBS (Legal Information and Management Briefing System):

The Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) is a web-based application for monitoring all court cases where Union of India is a party. LIMBS came into operation in February 2016 and since then, the application under the supervision of the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice. It is an innovative and easy to access online tool that is available 24x7 to all the stakeholders, viz., senior Government officers/officials, nodal officers and users of the Ministries/Departments.

LIMBS also captures arbitration at the ministry/department level followed by nomination of arbitrators, and the proceedings. The Department of Legal Affairs, Cabinet Secretariat, Niti Aayog, and PMO can access court case details on LIMBS. Central Agency Section (CAS) of the Department of Legal Affairs also identifies and enters the details of important cases filed by the Union of India (UoI) before the Supreme Court. EAC-PM (Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister) was also given access to the LIMBS Portal.

Leaning towards a more automated system minimizing the manual data entry process, efforts are being made to integrate LIMBS with various Courts and Tribunal databases through APIs for seamless data transfer and update. In this regard, Supreme Court, High Court, District Courts, and 17 Tribunals were approached. Department of Legal Affairs in cooperation with NIC and respective Court/Tribunal Authorities had successfully integrated LIMBS with the following Courts and Tribunals:

Courts/Tribunals integrated with LIMBS via API i.e.

• Supreme Court
• High Courts
• District & Session Courts

 

Tribunals (9):

• Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
• Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)
• Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL)
• Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT)
• Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)
• National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
• National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)
• National Green Tribunal (NGT)
• Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT)

 

Integration of LIMBS with the remaining 4 Tribunals (AFT, NCDRC, CGIT, and Appellate Tribunals under SAFEMA) is in progress.

As on date LIMBS was implemented in all Ministries of the Government of India, its departments, and attached offices and it brought all the stakeholders viz. users, Nodal Officers of the various Ministry/Departments, advocates etc. on a single platform. With the concerted efforts of Ministries/Departments, the application has captured 13.05 lakh court cases (including disposed of cases) through 13310 registered users, thereby creating a unified database of litigations pertaining to the Union of India. The application has captured details of all courts and 18687 Panel and other advocates.

A)      Impact of LIMBS

1. LIMBS is an initiative launched at an opportune time, serving as a catalyst for improvements in the monitoring of court cases from the perspective of Ministries/Departments of Union of India. It aims to integrate with the e-Court application, providing a comprehensive solution for the effective oversight of UOI litigation. LIMBS employs a unified database, standard templates, and a common nomenclature to remove confusion and ambiguity in handling court cases. SMS alerts to advocates, users, and concerned officers ensure vigilant case management. Additionally, MIS reports have enhanced the functioning of legal cells across different Ministries/Departments.
2. LIMBS has thus revolutionized the litigation monitoring system of the Union of India by introducing accountability, ownership, and cohesiveness among the users across the Ministries and improving transparency by entering the necessary information on this web application.
3. LIMBS offers affordable web technology access to all stakeholders in the UOI involved in a court case, coordinating inputs that are seamlessly available 24/7 according to predefined access rules. This enables continuous monitoring of a case's various stages through a comprehensive suite of user-friendly reports.
4. LIMBS aims to reduce financial burden, conserve time, and bring efficiency in the working of various Departments of a Ministry. It fosters transparency and instils a sense of responsibility among all stakeholders throughout the duration of a court case.
5. It will assist authorities in making data-driven decisions, evaluating the performance of various stakeholders, and conducting legal audits.

For the government to function in a more coordinated manner and to achieve the intended outcomes, it is essential that various departments submit their data promptly within a specified timeframe and in an integrated fashion.

B)      Training/Meeting Conducted by LIMBS Team:

Keeping in view the huge user base, LIMBS had extended its support for the smooth adoption of application by all concerned Ministries/Departments. 200+ training/meeting sessions (both through Online and offline modes) were conducted by the LIMBS team which covered officers/officials of various Ministries/Departments like M/o Finance (Revenue CBDT), M/o Home Affairs (NCB), M/o Defence (Ex-serviceman Welfares and Defence Estates), D/o Space,  M/o Labour and Employment, M/o Corporate affairs, M/o Communications (NICF), M/o Women child and Development, CAG etc to ensure effective dissemination of its features.

 

8).     Law Commission of India:  Hon’ble Chairperson and Members of 23rd Law Commission of India assumed charge w.e.f 16.04.2025.

 

Sentencing Policy:  The Department of Justice constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Chairman of the Law Commission of India to examine the feasibility of introducing a comprehensive sentencing policy in India pursuant to Hon’ble Supreme Court’s directions dated 17.05.2024 in Criminal Appeal no. 3924 of 2023, Sunita Devi vs. State of Bihar & Anr. The Committee has submitted its interim report in the Supreme Court in November, 2025.

 

9).     Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Benches: The Tribunal has its own premises at Jaipur, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Delhi and Lucknow. Whereas, at many other places Tribunal functions from Government or Semi Government premises. At a few stations Benches continue to function from private premises on monthly rent. Continuous efforts are being undertaken for strengthening infrastructure, including construction of new office buildings at Ahmedabad and Kolkata, which are at advanced stages and new buildings may be inaugurated in the March of 2026, and construction of new office building at Guwahati in collaboration with - Inland Waterways Authority of India, reflecting the institution's commitment to stable infrastructure, dignified working conditions and efficient delivery of justice. Efforts are being made to identify land/Govt. Buildings at the following stations, where the following Benches are functioning from privately owned rented premises: -

i) Rajkot (Ahmedabad Zone)

ii) Surat (Ahmedabad Zone)

iii) Jodhpur (Chandigarh Zone)

iv) Ranchi (Kolkata Zone)

v) Jabalpur (Lucknow Zone)

 

 Head office at Mumbai functions from CGO Complex which is very old. Sincere efforts are being taken to identify land /own building.

Disposal of appeals at ITAT:

The All-India pendency of appeals in the ITAT, as on 1.12.2025 is 44776. The total disposal of appeals in the Calendar Year 2024 was 38370 and in the Calendar Year 2025 (i.e. upto 01.12.2025) total disposal is 52088 which is a substantial increase of 35.75% in comparison to the total disposal in the Calendar Year 2024. Virtual/Hybrid Hearing is enabled at all regular Benches of ITAT and they are conducting the Hybrid Hearings using the necessary infrastructure. E-filing of appeals has also substantially increased during the Year 2025.

 

10).   Training Sessions Organised by the Department:

Following important conferences/workshops were organised during the Year 2025:

1. Organized behavioural workshop on "Mind the Mind" on 08.01.2025 in association with Brahma Kumaris for all the employees of the Department of Legal Affairs.
2. Conducted the training of its approximately 411 officers (in total 12 Batch) of the Department during the Rastriya Karmayogi Large Scale Jan Seva Training program to instil Seva Bhav amongst them during the period from 24.01.2025 to 01.03.2025.
3. Organized Phase-II of the Jan Seva Programme across its Branch Secretariats under the insightful leadership of Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs. A total no. of 105 Officers/Officials across the Branch Secretariats were trained during the Phase-II of the Jan Seva Programme.

Branch Secretariat, Mumbai – 08.06.2025

Branch Secretariat, Chennai – 14.06.2025

Branch Secretariat, Bengaluru – 21.06.2025

Branch Secretariat, Kolkata – 28.06.2025

• IV. Organized training programme on 09.04.2025 on “Usage of Legal Research Tools” for all the ALAs, Supdt. (L), Assistant (Legal) of the Department of Legal Affairs.

5. A Training Program for the senior ILS Cadre Officers of the Department of Legal Affairs was organized at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) from 30.06.2025 to 04.07.2025.

11).   Notary Cell:

Issuance of Digitally signed Certificate of Practice through Notary Portal: In order to provide a paperless, faceless and efficient system, and to achieve the goal of the digital India of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, the Notary Portal i.e. https://notary.gov.in has been developed and launched on 03.09.2024 as a dedicated platform for providing online services like submission of applications for appointment as notaries, issuance and renewal of Certificates of Practice, change of practice area, submission of annual returns, etc. The Notary Portal has different modules, to be rolled out in phases. Presently, the module related to verification of documents and eligibility and issuance of digitally signed Certificate of Practice to the newly appointed Notaries is live. The modules related to submission of Annual returns by Notaries and applications for change of area of practice are in final stages of development.  More than thirty-five thousand seven-hundred digitally signed Certificates of Practice have been issued through the Portal.  The portal is linked with Digi-Locker for real-time document access.

12).   Central Agency Section:

Central Agency Section (CAS) conducts litigation before Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on behalf of all Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government and also on behalf of National Capital Territory of Delhi, Union Territories (excluding Pondicherry and J&K), the office of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India and all field offices under CAG. Special Leave Petitions/Appeals & other petitions in certain matters on behalf of Union of India are filed after obtaining opinion of Ld. Law Officers on the feasibility of filing Special Leave Petitions/Appeals in the Supreme Court through Central Agency Section.

During the year 2025, Central Agency Section (CAS) filed 8685 new cases in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India whereas total number of 2586 cases have been disposed of in the current year.

13).   राजभाषा एकक:

बिंदु सं. 1 :- विधि कार्य विभाग का राजभाषा एकक मुख्‍य रूप से राजभाषा हिंदी के कार्यान्‍वयन व अनुवाद संबंधी कार्यों को निष्‍पादित करता है।

इस क्रम में राजभाषा एकक की बड़ी उपलब्‍धियां निम्‍नलिखित रही हैं:-

1. विधि कार्य विभाग की वेबसाइट को द्विभाषी बनाने के प्रयास तेज हुए।
2. गत वर्षों की भांति इस वर्ष भी ''हिन्दी दिवस'' के अवसर पर दिनांक 14 सितम्बर, 2025 से 29 सितम्बर, 2025 तक ''हिन्दी पखवाड़ा'' मनाया गया और इस दौरान 05 प्रतियोगिताओं का आयोजन किया गया जिसमें विभाग के अधिकारियों व कर्मचारियों ने बढ़चढ़ कर भाग लिया एवं विजेता प्रतिभागियों को पुरस्कार राशि प्रदान की गई।

हिंदी पखवाड़ा-2025

3. ‘सतर्कता जागरूकता सप्‍ताह 2025’ के दौरान राजभाषा एकक द्वारा विधि कार्य विभाग में “सतर्कता हमारी साझा जिम्‍मेदारी” विषय पर हिंदी निबंध प्रतियोगिता का आयोजन किया गया।

सतर्कता जागरूकता सप्ताह-2025 के दौरान हिंदी निबंध प्रतियोगिता

 

• IV. वर्ष 2025 के दौरान आयकर अपीलीय अधिकरण के विशाखापट्टनम पीठ, और अहमदाबाद पीठ का राजभाषायी निरीक्षण किया गया और इसके साथ ही हिंदी कार्यशाला का भी आयोजन किया गया।

5. विधि कार्य विभाग में दिनांक 19 दिसंबर, 2025 को सम्‍मेलन कक्ष शास्‍त्री भवन में हिंदी कार्यशाला का भी आयोजन किया गया।

• VI. वार्षिक कार्यक्रम:- राजभाषा विभाग, गृह मंत्रालय द्वारा जारी वर्ष 2025-26 का वार्षिक कार्यक्रम प्राप्त किया गया और उसे विभाग के सभी अनुभागों और विभाग के नियंत्रणाधीन कार्यालयों में परिचालित किया गया।

 

7. हिंदी में मूल टिप्‍पण/प्रारूप लेखन के लिए प्रोत्‍साहन योजना इस विभाग में हिंदी में टिप्पण/प्रारूप लेखन के लिए राजभाषा विभाग द्वारा निदेशित प्रोत्साहन योजना कार्यान्‍वित की जा रही है। इस योजना के अंतर्गत वर्ष 2024-25 में प्रतिभागियों को पुरस्कार प्रदान किए गए और कार्मिकों को हिंदी में सरकारी कामकाज करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया गया है।

बिंदु सं. 2:- विधि कार्य विभाग के राजभाषा एकक द्वारा हाल के कुछ वर्षों से विधिक दस्‍तावेजों/सामग्रियों के हिंदी अनुवाद में कठिन शब्‍दों के बजाय सरल, बोधगम्‍य शब्‍दों का अधिक से अधिक प्रयोग किया जा रहा है ताकि सामान्‍य जन भी कानून की भाषा व शब्‍दावली से यथासंभव अधिक से अधिक परिचित हो सके। प्रत्‍येक तिमाही पर होने वाली राजभाषा कार्यान्‍वयन समिति की बैठक में भी इस बिंदु पर बार-बार जोर दिया जाता है। इससे विभाग में भी मूलरूप से हिंदी में कामकाज में अधिक सरलीकरण का अनुभव हुआ है व हिंदी के प्रचार-प्रसार में यह सहायक सिद्ध हुआ है। मंत्रालय की वार्षिक रिपोर्ट, प्रेस विज्ञप्‍तियां, अधिसूचनाएं, परिपत्र, कार्यालय ज्ञापन व अन्‍य सभी कार्यों में भी यह साफ तौर पर परिलक्षित होता है।

14).   Advice Work:

          During the year 2025 (from January to November 2025), this Department rendered 3221 advices to various Ministries/Departments of Government of India and examined 108 Cabinet Notes.

15).   SCDPM 5.0:

          During the Special Campaign 5.0, this Department conducted 50 campaigns and an amount of Rs.4,91,758/- of revenue generated, 60,527 files reviewed/closed and 11,831 sq.ft. space was freed.

16).   Celebration of the 75^th Constitution Day:

Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice in collaboration with Indian Law Institute organized the celebration of the 75th Constitution Day at the plenary hall of ILI, New Delhi, on 26 November 2025. The programme commenced with ceremonial lamp lighting by the Director and distinguished guests, followed by an address by Prof. (Dr.) V.K. Ahuja on the historic significance of Constitution Day and contemporary relevance of constitutional values, and then the Final Round of the Extempore Competition on the theme “What the Constitution Means Today,” featuring LL.M. students of ILI and interns from the Ministry of Law & Justice. The celebrations further included a soulful collective rendition of “Vande Mataram” and recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution with the participation of Director ILI and other dignitaries, followed by a three‑round Constitutional Quiz Competition among ILI students in teams of four. Winners of the Extempore Competition and Quiz Competition were awarded certificates by the distinguished guests.

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Samrat

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