Why govt is failing badly in law courts

According to the response to a question in the recently concluded Assembly session, the Karnataka government has lost over 80 per cent of the cases against it in lower courts, district courts, and the High Court in 2023. The government lost 14,706 cases, while it won only 1,222.

This has been the trend in the past too, and points to the ineffectiveness of the State prosecution machinery. Public prosecutors alone cannot be blamed for the sad state of affairs, as often government officials and the police play a major role in the government’s legal battles.

There may be truth in the government’s contention that many of these verdicts cannot be considered orders against it as they pertain to the issue of writ of mandamus directing a department to respond to a litigant’s application, or seeking the release of a defendant on bail. Nevertheless, the fact that it loses most cases cannot be denied.

The government is the biggest litigant before all the courts of the land, and as Justice B R Gavai of the Supreme Court observed in August 2023, what is most concerning is that 70 per cent of this litigation is frivolous. The government also often prefers appeals in a cavalier manner, without considering the merits of the case.

The Delhi High Court had recently called for a mechanism to audit the decision-making process on contesting cases and fixing accountability on erring officials. On the one hand, there is a perennial shortage of public prosecutors, but on the other, the legal competence of some of them leaves much to be desired.

The black sheep should also be eliminated as there are several complaints of prosecutors colluding with the opposite party. Government officials are also responsible for the poor success rate as they fail to respond to the court in time, leading to adverse orders. In criminal cases, public prosecutors can argue before the judge only on the basis of material available to them, and cannot do much when a case is shoddily investigated by the police.

There is, thus, an urgent need to implement the National Litigation Policy, which was first conceptualised in 2010, but put on the back burner by the Centre for reasons best known to it. However, this does not come in the way of Karnataka evolving a policy of its own.

To ensure a better success rate, the state should reduce frivolous litigation, act against unresponsive officials who force the public to approach the courts, and monitor the entire prosecution process.