Correcting the Default Practice of Automatic Appeals by Government Departments — Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal’s Observations at CAT Conference

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, speaking at the 10th All-India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal in 2025, condemned the widespread practice among government departments of filing appeals “by default” even if tribunal or court orders are legally sound. He noted that often, a department or officer, earlier critical of a decision, insists on appealing when an adverse order is passed despite its correctness—only to later, sometimes after the relevant officer retires, admit that the appeal was unnecessary. Meghwal suggested that this tendency imposes needless burden on courts, wastes public resources, and contravenes principles of judicial economy. He urged a reconsideration of this reflex-appeal culture, particularly in administrative matters and CAT cases, where officials often believe an appeal is imperative simply because of earlier written notes or departmental predisposition. The minister’s plea was for departments to restrain from appealing routine cases, and instead assess merits before moving appeals, so as to reduce vexatious litigation and improve efficiency in the justice delivery system.