Strengthening the Rule of Law: Role of the Finance Commission

This paper examines an essential yet underexplored aspect of judicial reform in India – the budgeting process and the allocation of funds to the judiciary. By analysing the budgetary allocation towards the judiciary at both the union and state government level, this paper reveals both a vertical disparity (between the union and state governments) and horizontal disparities (across the states) in budgetary allocation towards the judiciary in India. The paper utilises several metrics (pending cases per lakh population, judicial expenditure per capita, expenditure per subordinate court, case burden per subordinate court, etc.) to understand the disparity of public funding of judiciary from various dimensions. The paper also highlights archaic budgeting processes and severe underutilisation of funds, and underscores the role of the Finance Commission in addressing funding disparities and improving budgetary practices. The paper proposes reform measures to the Sixteenth Finance Commission to improve the budgeting for the judiciary, allocation of money to courts, and the utilisation of funds.