Law Ministry allocation cut to ₹4,509 crore in Union Budget
The Hindu
Law Ministry's budget cut to ₹4,509 crore; higher allocations for Election Commission, Supreme Court, and digital judiciary initiatives.
The Ministry of Law and Justice has been allocated ₹4,509.06 crore in the Union Budget for the financial year 2026-27, around ₹400 crore less than the previous year. The Budget allocation for the Ministry in 2025-26 was ₹4,998.24 crore, while the revised estimate stood at ₹5,189 crore.
The government has increased funding for the Election Commission of India by about ₹80 crore, with the constitutional body receiving ₹382.20 crore in 2026-27. In the previous year, the Election Commission was allotted ₹304 crore. The allocation for elections has also been raised to ₹367.99 crore, compared to around ₹302 crore last year.
The Supreme Court has seen an increase of around ₹75 crore in its allocation for 2026-27, with a provision of ₹622.11 crore. The allocation in 2025-26 was ₹547 crore, while the revised estimate was approximately ₹633 crore.
An amount of ₹810 crore has been allocated for infrastructure development for the judiciary, lower than the ₹998 crore provided last year. Of this, ₹200 crore has been earmarked for the setting up of fast-track courts, while ₹2 crore has been allocated for village courts.
The e-Courts Phase III project has received ₹1,200 crore, reflecting the Centre’s emphasis on a digital and paperless judiciary. The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has been allotted ₹1,240 crore, marginally higher than the previous year.
Legal aid has also received greater attention. The Legal Aid Defense Counsel System, aimed at providing free and quality legal representation at the district level, has been allocated ₹300 crore. Funding for the National Legal Services Authority has been increased to ₹250 crore, up from ₹200 crore in 2025-26.
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