Syllabus: GS2/Judiciary; GS3/Role of IT
Context
- Recently, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) observed that the judges are ‘over-conscious’ of the risks in using Artificial Intelligence (AI), while hearing a PIL seeking guidelines to check the misuse of AI in Courts.
Promise of AI in the Courts
- AI technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Predictive Analytics are being deployed in the Indian legal system.
Key Benefits of AI in Indian Judiciary
- Reducing Case Backlogs: AI tools are being used to streamline case management, prioritize hearings, and assist in legal research, with over 4.8 crores pending cases across Indian courts.
- Translating and Transcribing Proceedings: AI-driven tools are helping translate court documents into regional languages and transcribe courtroom exchanges in real time, improving accessibility and record-keeping.
- AI in Legal Research and Predictive Analytics: AI tools now support predictive analytics, helping lawyers assess case outcomes based on historical data.
- For example, AI models trained on decades of judgments can estimate the probability of success for particular legal arguments.
- Enhancing Court Efficiency: AI assists not only in judgment analysis but also in administrative efficiency. Tools developed under Digital Courts Vision 2047 streamline tasks such as allocation of cases based on judge expertise, identifying repetitive litigation, and detecting delays in procedural compliance.
- These initiatives, endorsed by NeGD and MeitY, aim to reduce pendency and enhance transparency in case listings.
Key AI Tools, Initiatives and AI Adoption
- National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG): It was launched under Digital India that uses analytics to track case pendency and disposal rates across courts.
- Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency (SUPACE): It processes facts and manages large volumes of case data to ‘assist’ judges, acting as a force multiplier without taking decisions.
- Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS): It translates judicial documents from English to vernacular languages (and vice-versa) to improve access to justice for non-English speakers.
- Legal Research Analysis Assistant (LegRAA): A new tool in the pilot phase designed to aid judges specifically in legal research and document analysis.
- Digital Courts 2.1: Unified Judicial Platform is a single-window platform for judges that integrates:
- ASR-SHRUTI: AI voice-to-text for dictating orders.
- PANINI: Translation functionality to assist in drafting orders.
- Digital Transformation of Justice Report: It outlines a roadmap for integrating AI across police, forensics, jails, and courts to create a unified justice delivery ecosystem.
Judicial Caution and Emerging Challenges
- ‘Hallucinations’ & Fake Cases: There is a recognized risk of Generative AI creating fictitious case laws (hallucinations).
- The CJI has warned that verifying AI-generated research is the personal responsibility of lawyers and judges.
- Algorithmic Bias: AI models trained on Western data may be biased or inaccurate in an Indian context.
- The Supreme Court’s AI Committee is actively monitoring for systemic bias or unintended content in these tools.
- No Formal Policy For AI: The Ministry of Law & Justice confirmed that there is no formal policy for AI in decision-making till now.
- All AI solutions are currently used only in areas approved under the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of eCourts Phase III.
Looking Ahead: Ethical and Legal Frameworks
- Robust Regulatory Frameworks to ensure accountability and transparency in AI decision-making.
- Countries such as Estonia and Singapore have piloted AI-driven judicial processes for minor cases.
- Ethical Guidelines to prevent misuse and protect fundamental rights.
- Capacity Building to train judges, lawyers, and court staff in AI literacy and digital tools.
- The Supreme Court has emphasized that AI can only be an ‘assistive technology’, not a decision-making authority, reaffirming the primacy of human judges.
- The e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India, in 2024, has proposed a National AI Policy for Justice Delivery, focusing on transparency, explainability, and accountability in AI use.
