3 minutes of readingPuneFebruary 3, 2026 22:22 IST
The Union Budget 2026-27 has once again exposed the government’s apathy towards the judiciary, with an amount of only Rs 200 crore systematically allocated for special judicial proceedings in rape and POCSO cases, lawyer Asim Sarode said at a press conference in Pune on Tuesday.
Sarode highlighted the low spending of the judiciary in the budgetarguing that revitalizing the judiciary does not appear to be on the government’s priority list despite global recognition of the role of an efficient judiciary in facilitating economic growth.
He pointed out that the Union Government’s budget for the judiciary constitutes a meager 0.08%, i.e. Rs 4,509.06 crore, of the total Union Budgetwhile the central government’s share in total judicial expenditure amounts to only 8%. In contrast, state governments shoulder 90% to 92% of the financial responsibility.
“The total public expenditure on the judiciary is less than 0.4% of the gross budgetary expenditure of the state and central governments put together. The effects of all this are visible in the performance of the court,” he said.
Sarode emphasized that the pendency problem, which has reached a staggering 5 million cases with around 4 crore cases pending in lower courts alone, is a major obstacle to economic investment and growth. “This fact has been constantly ignored,” he said, adding that 45% of this pendency is accounted for in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat.
He pointed out that the increase in processing is not always due to insufficient courts, but also to insufficient judicial personnel and availability of courtrooms. “There is a need to maximize the e-court project, for which only Rs 7,000 crore was allocated till the last budget,” Sarode said. He also highlighted how low digital infrastructure is hampering judicial efficiency, particularly at the district and taluka levels, where facilities for online hearings remain unavailable.
Talking to him indian expressSarode called for reviving the Gram Nyayalaya system, once introduced as a vibrant concept during the time of Dr Manmohan Singh, to bring justice to the grassroots level. “The allocation of only Rs 50 crore by the Center has made Gram Nyayalaya almost non-functional across the state. The state government is also not serious about strengthening it,” he said.
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The advocate also recommended setting up research offices with experts in law, policy and technology in the Supreme Court and high courts, saying that judges are only experts in law and not in all other fields.
Sarode even criticized the lack of budget spending tracking systems, noting that substantial funds are spent on protocol and program management on things he considers not a problem.