SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Institutions: Ministry of Law & Justice
The Department of Legal Affairs (DLA) is integrating its Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) to enable fully digital, end-to-end payment processing for litigation-related expenses. This reform eliminates the need for manual bill submission and physical verification previously required for law officers, panel advocates, and other legal-service units.
Under the new system, bills filed in LIMBS are automatically routed to PFMS for digital verification, sanction and direct account payment — each tagged with a Claim Reference Number (CRN) for real-time tracking, improved transparency, and faster service delivery. The integration, rolled out initially in the Central Agency Section in February 2025, is being expanded to additional litigation units including those supporting the Delhi High Court.
This digital transformation supports the Government of India’s Special Campaign 5.0 and advances broader institutional objectives under Digital India, Ease of Doing Business, and modernisation of public-sector workflows — strengthening accountability and reducing friction in justice-administration financing.
Automating litigation-payment workflows improves efficiency, reduces delays, and enhances financial transparency across the justice system — helping build a faster, more accessible, and trustworthy legal ecosystem.
What is LIMBS?→ The Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) is the Government of India’s digital platform used by the Department of Legal Affairs to manage government litigation — including case monitoring, advocate empanelment, and fee-bill submission — ensuring centralised oversight of legal matters across ministries.
What is PFMS?→ The Public Financial Management System (PFMS) is India’s national digital payments and accounting system, enabling real-time fund tracking, direct bank-account transfers, and transparent utilisation reporting for government expenditure across ministries and schemes.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
How can India ensure that this automation reaches all legal-service units nationwide and that performance metrics reliably track timeliness, data security, and user experience?
Follow the full news here:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2182374