Moving One Step Further

Abstract

The Indian judicial system using artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to turn into reality soon with the introduction of newer technologies such as the AI-based portal for the Supreme Court. It is well known that the Indian judicial system is overburdened with caseloads, leading to delayed justice delivery. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation, and the usual in-person court hearing has been postponed for an indefinite time seeing the transmission risk. Thus, making a shift toward AI, which expediates court processes, is crucial in this direction. However, there are certain apprehensions regarding the full-fledged adoption of AI-based mechanisms in the Indian judicial system. The 47th Chief Justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde, has also mentioned that machines, however intelligent, cannot replace judges. It is vital to ensure that the analytics can align with the ethics, morality, the Constitution, and the rights of the citizens and enable the Judiciary to perform its role without any biases and outside interference. The authors aim to analyze the above-mentioned concerns regarding the efficient use of analytics in the Indian judicial system keeping in line with the code of conduct and bringing the needed changes in the Indian Judiciary.