Ministry of Law & Justice

Agency overview
Formed	1833; 191 years ago (1833)[1]
Jurisdiction	Government of India
Headquarters	Cabinet Secretariat Raisina Hill, New Delhi 28°36′50″N 17°12′32″E / 28.61389°N 17.20889°E / 28.61389; 17.20889
Minister responsible	Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of Law and Justice (Independent Charge)
Agency executives	• Dr. Niten Chandra, IAS, Secretary (Legal Affairs) • Reeta Vasishta, Secretary (Legislative Department) • S. K. G. Rahate, IAS, Secretary (Justice)
Child agencies	• Department of Legal Affairs • Legislative Department • Department of Justice
Website	lawmin.gov.in

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of India
Constitution and law Constitution of India Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties of India Human rights Judicial review Taxation Uniform Civil Code Basic structure doctrine Amendment Law of India Indian criminal law Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bharatiya Sakshya Act, 2023
Government President of India Droupadi Murmu Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (BJP) Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba (IAS) Union Council of Ministries List of ministers Government Departments List of secretaries
Parliament Parliament of India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla (BJP) Deputy Speaker Vacant Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh (IAS) House Leader Narendra Modi (BJP) Opposition Leader Vacant Members of Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh Secretary General Pramod Chandra Mody House Leader Piyush Goyal (BJP) Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge (INC) Members of Rajya Sabha Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi
Judiciary Supreme Court of India Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud Justice of the Supreme Court (List) Secretary General of Supreme Court Atul M. Kurhekar District Courts High Courts Lok Adalat Gram Nyayalayas Nyaya panchayat Other tribunals Ministry of Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal Bar Council of India Attorney-General R. Venkataramani Solicitor General Tushar Mehta Additional Solicitor General of India
Elections and political parties Presidential elections 2022 2017 2012 Vice Presidential elections 2022 2017 2012 Lok Sabha Election (General elections) 2014 2019 2024 Parliamentary constituencies Rajya Sabha Election 2024 2023 2022 Seats of State of Council State Assembly elections 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Political parties National coalitions National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) National parties State parties Electoral College (India) Election Commission of India State election commission (India)
Administrative divisions States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Union territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Delhi Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Lakshadweep Puducherry Capitals of State and Union Territory Divisions Districts Sub-Districts Community development block Autonomous administrative divisions Proposed states and union territories
Federalism Executive Governors (List) Lieutenant governor and administrators(List) Chief minister(List) Deputy chief ministers(List) Ministries of All State and U.T. governments Legislative State legislative councils State legislative assemblies Speakers(List) Official Opposition(List) Judiciary High Courts Chief justices of High courts Judges of high courts Local government District court(List)
India portal Other countries
v t e

The Ministry of Law and Justice in the Government of India is a cabinet ministry which deals with the management of the legal affairs, legislative activities and administration of justice in India through its three departments namely the Legislative Department and the Department of Legal Affairs and the Department of Justice respectively. The Department of Legal Affairs is concerned with advising the various Ministries of the Central Government while the Legislative Department is concerned with drafting of principal legislation for the Central Government. The ministry is headed by Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India.^[1][2] The first Law and Justice minister of independent India was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who served in the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet during 1947–51.

History

Ministry of law and justice is the oldest limb of the government of India dating back to 1833 when the Charter Act 1833 was enacted by the British Parliament when India was under British control. The said Act vested for the first time legislative power in a single authority, namely the Governor General in Council. By virtue of this authority and the authority vested under him under section 22 of the Indian Councils Act 1861 the Governor General in Council enacted laws for the country from 1834 to 1920. After the commencement of the Government of India Act 1919 the legislative power was exercised by the Indian Legislature constituted thereunder. The Government of India Act 1919 was followed by the Government of India Act 1935. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 India became a 'dominion' and the 'dominion legislature' made laws from 1947 to 1949 under the provisions of section 100 of the Government of India Act 1935 as adapted by the India (Provisional Constitution) Order 1947. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, the legislative power thereafter got vested in the Parliament of India.^[1]

Organisation

The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules of 1961 entail the various departments working under the Ministry of Law and Justice of Government of India. In terms of these Rules, the Ministry comprises the following departments:^[3]

• Department of Legal Affairs
• Legislative Department
• Department of Justice.

Department of Legal Affairs

The Department of Legal Affairs has two main duties: advice and litigation.^[4] Specifically, the following functions are allocated to the Department:^[5]

1. Advice to Ministries on legal matters including interpretation of the Constitution and the laws, conveyancing and engagement of counsel to appear on behalf of the Union of India in the High Courts and subordinate courts where the Union of India is a party.
2. Attorney General of India, Solicitor General of India, and other Central Government law officers of the States whose services are shared by the Ministries of the Government of India.
3. Conduct of cases in the Supreme Court and the High Courts on behalf of the Central Government and on behalf of the Governments of States participating in the Central Agency Scheme.
4. Reciprocal arrangements with foreign countries for the service of summons in civil suits, for the execution of decrees of Civil Courts, for the enforcement of maintenance orders, and for the administration of the estates of foreigners dying in India intestate.
5. Authorization of officers to execute contracts and assurances and of property on behalf of the President under Article 299(1) of the Constitution, and authorization of officers to sign and verify plaints or written statements in suits by or against the Central Government.
6. Indian Legal Service.
7. Treaties and agreements with foreign countries in matters of civil law.
8. Law Commission.
9. Legal Profession including the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961) and persons entitled to practice before High Courts.
10. Enlargement of the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and the conferring thereon of further powers; persons entitled to practice before the Supreme Court; references to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution of India.
11. Administration of the Notaries Act, 1952 (53 of 1952).
12. Income-tax Appellate Tribunal.
13. Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange.
14. Legal aid to the poor.

The Department's Main Secretariat is in New Delhi. It also maintains Branch Secretariats in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru.^[4]

Legislative Department

The Legislative Department is mainly concerned with drafting of all principal legislation for the Central Government i.e. Bills to be introduced in Parliament, Ordinances to be promulgated by the President, measures to be enacted as President's Acts for States under the President's rule and Regulations to be made by the President for Union territories. It is also concerned with election Laws namely the Representation of the People Act 1950 and the Representation of the People Act 1951. In addition, it is also entrusted with the task of dealing with certain matters relating to List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution like personal law, contracts evidence, etc. The responsibility of maintaining up to date the statutes enacted by Parliament is also with this Department. The Allocation of Business Rules identify the following functions to be carried out by this Department:^[5]

1. The drafting of Bills, including the business of the Draftsmen in Select Committees, drafting and promulgation of Ordinances and Regulations; enactment of State Acts as President's Acts whenever required; scrutiny of Statutory Rules and Orders (except notifications under clause (a) of section 3, section 3A and section 3D, of the National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956)).
2. Constitution Orders; notifications for bringing into force Constitution (Amendment) Acts.
3. (a) Publication of Central Acts, Ordinance and Regulations; (b) Publication of authorised translations in Hindi of Central Acts, Ordinances, Orders, Rules, Regulations and bye-laws referred to in section 5(1) of the Official Languages Act, 1963 (19 of 1963).
4. Compilation and publication of unrepealed Central Acts, Ordinances and Regulations of general statutory Rules and Orders, and other similar publications.
5. Elections to Parliament, to the Legislatures of States, to the Offices of the President and Vice-President; and the Election Commission.
6. Preparation and publication of standard legal terminology for use, as far as possible, in all official languages.
7. Preparation of authoritative texts in Hindi of all Central Acts and of Ordinances promulgated and Regulations made by the President and of all rules, regulations and orders made by the Central Government under such Acts, Ordinances and Regulations.
8. Making arrangements for the translation into official languages of the States of Central Acts and of Ordinances promulgated and Regulations made by the President and for the translation of all State Acts and Ordinances into Hindi if the texts of such Acts or Ordinance are in a language other than Hindi.
9. Publication of law books and law journals in Hindi.
10. Marriage and divorce; infants and minors; adoption, wills; intestate and succession; joint family and partition.
11. Transfer of property other than agricultural land (excluding benami transactions registration of deeds and documents).
12. Contracts, but not including those relating to agricultural land.
13. Actionable wrongs.
14. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
15. Trusts and trustees, Administrators, General and Official Trustees.
16. Evidence and oaths.
17. Civil Procedure including Limitation and Arbitration.
18. Charitable and religious endowments and religious institutions.

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice performs the administrative functions in relation to the appointment of various judges at various courts in India, maintenance and revision of the conditions and rules of service of the judges and other related areas. The Department is housed in Jaisalmer House. The Allocation of Business Rules identify the following functions to be carried out by this Department:^[5]

1. Appointment, resignation and removal of the Chief Justice of India and Judges of the Supreme Court of India; their salaries, rights in respect of leave of absence (including leave allowances), pensions and travelling allowances.
2. Appointment, resignation and removal, etc., of Chief Justice and Judges of High Courts in States; their salaries, rights in respect of leave of absence (including leave allowances), pensions and travelling allowances.
3. Appointment of Judicial Commissioners and Judicial officers in Union Territories.
4. Constitution and organisation (excluding jurisdiction and powers) of the Supreme Court (but including contempt of such Court) and the fees taken therein.
5. Constitution and organisation of the High Courts and the Courts of Judicial Commissioners except provisions as to officers and servants of these courts.
6. Administration of justice.
7. Creation of all India Judicial Service.
8. Conditions of service of District Judges and other Members of Higher Judicial Service of Union Territories.
9. Extension of the Jurisdiction of a High Court to a Union Territory or exclusion of a Union Territory from the Jurisdiction of a High Court.
10. Extension of the Jurisdiction of a High Court to a Union Territory or exclusion of a Union Territory from the Jurisdiction of a High Court.
11. Appointment, resignation and removal of the Chief Justice of India and Judges of the Supreme Court of India; their salaries, rights in respect of leave of absence (including rules of service of the judges and other related areas the allocation of business rules identify the following functions to be carried out by this department leave of creation of all India Judicial Service).