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1,445 days

to enforce a contract in India's courts, nearly 4 years

The curious case of funding "cases"

Companies No. 19 19 September 2026 · 1 min read

Five Rivers, a Mumbai AIF, is reportedly raising a $25-50 million fund to finance commercial lawsuits and arbitrations. In return, it gets a share of the money if the case wins. It is the first SEBI-registered fund set up specifically for this. LegalPay has also said it will put ₹100 crore into 20-30 cases, investing ₹2-5 crore per case.

The returns sound too good to be true at 200-300% over 4-5 years, with a 50-70% IRR on winning cases and 30%+ across the portfolio. The funder does not finance every lawsuit. It picks cases where it thinks the claimant has a strong chance of winning.

If a company has a good case but does not have the money or patience to fight it, the funder pays the legal bills and gets a share of the payout if the company wins.

India's courts are slow and expensive. Getting a contract enforced can take about 1,445 days, or nearly 4 years, and cost around 31% of the claim. There are also 1.12 crore civil cases waiting in district courts.

The law is becoming more friendly to litigation funding as well. In 2018, the Supreme Court said non-lawyers could fund lawsuits. In 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled that a funder who was not directly involved in the case did not have to pay the other side's legal costs if the case was lost. But India still has no specific law or disclosure rules for litigation funding.

Burford, the world's largest listed litigation funder, has made $3.9 billion since 2009, generating an 82% return on invested capital, but only a 25% IRR.

8 years from a court's nod to the first fund

The steps from a 2018 Supreme Court line to Five Rivers raising money in 2026. The law settled who can fund a case and who pays when it loses before any dedicated capital showed up.

Eight years from a court's nod to the first fund: the 2018 Supreme Court line, the 2023 Delhi High Court ruling that a funder is not liable when the claim loses, LegalPay's ₹100 crore in January 2026 and Five Rivers' $25-50mn fund in May 2026.

Court judgments; company statements · Mar 2018 to May 2026

Enforcing a contract in India takes 1,445 days

Days to win a payment through the courts, from the World Bank's last Doing Business report in 2020. India takes almost 4 years, 2.5 times as long as rich countries.

DAYS FROM FILING TO PAYMENT

India
South Asia
OECD high income
Singapore
Enforcing a contract in India takes 1,445 days and costs 31% of the claim, against 589.6 days and 21.5% in OECD high-income countries and 120 days in Singapore (World Bank Doing Business 2020).

Costs 31% of the claim. South Asia 29.9%, OECD 21.5%

A standardised commercial claim of ₹3.45 lakh, measured in Delhi and Mumbai; both cities score the same. Singapore is the best performer on time. The World Bank stopped the Doing Business series in 2021, so this is the last edition.

World Bank, Doing Business 2020 · Data to May 2019

Sources