HC
judge: AI can reduce pendency of caes
Extract
from the article:
The article highlights the perspectives of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and
Justices M S Sonak, A S Gadkari, and M S Karnik during a regional lawyers'
conference wherein they discussed the potential transformative effect of
Artificial Intelligence (AI) on India’s overburdened judicial system. They
emphasized that AI mechanisms could meaningfully reduce the inordinate pendency
of cases which currently plague courts at all levels, drastically reducing
delays and enabling swifter justice delivery. The judges expressed optimism
about AI’s capacity to streamline document review, case management, and legal
research – functions that traditionally consume vast judicial time and
resources.
Furthermore, the discussion also broached the ways AI can
augment legal professionals’ efficiency by automating repetitive tasks such as
summarizing case facts and predicting applicable precedents or statutes. This
advance could herald a tectonic shift in judicial workflows, not to replace
human adjudication but to complement it. The judges’ endorsement of AI signals
a recognition of technological modernization as a sine qua non for the
evolution of India’s judiciary to meet 21st-century demands.
My
Take:
A. Dear
Hon Judges: Embrace what is Inevitable
"Researchers from the University of Liverpool used language models to
generate legal arguments from case facts... The top method achieved a 63 per
cent overlap with benchmark annotations. AI can summarise, suggest and predict
applicable statutes, reducing the time spent on document processing and aiding
legal professionals."
Reflecting on this in light of the judges’ recent
statements, it is striking to see how prescient these observations were. Long
before judicial luminaries voiced their confidence in AI’s role, I highlighted
tangible, research-backed evidence proving AI’s practical utility in legal
argumentation and streamlining judiciary workloads. My conviction that helper
bots are not just futuristic fantasy but immediate tools that mitigate
procedural snags is now gaining judicial favor. When the Chief Justice and colleagues
openly acknowledge AI’s promise to cut pendency, it validates the trajectory
I’ve advocated—deploying AI to liberate human intellect from tedious paperwork
and procedural stagnation. This confluence of technological possibility and
judicial endorsement is a pivotal moment that demands accelerated, thoughtful
integration of AI, lest the justice system remain mired much longer in archaic
inertia.
B. AI
come to judgement? Not for a while!
"Justice Bobde said, I wish to point out that it is not an attempt to
introduce AI in the decision-making process itself... There is no thought of
substituting decision-making by human minds with computers. Earlier, Justice
Lodha had said... The idea may help significantly in discharge of cases, but
such use of technological innovations may have potential negative
implications."
Revisiting these cautionary notes from 2019 reveals a
judicious balance between enthusiasm and prudence that the judiciary wisely
maintained. I appreciated and echoed that nuanced outlook then, underscoring
that AI must function as an augmentation rather than a surrogate for judicial
wisdom and discernment. The judges’ current remarks align with this stance—they
foresee AI as an indispensable assistant to reduce pendency but not as a judge
in its own right. This circumspection is essential to preserve human agency and
prevent blind reliance on algorithms with their inherent biases or
susceptibility to misuse. As I previously argued, hastily replacing human
judgement risks undermining justice itself. Instead, the evolving approach,
which welcomes AI’s aid while respecting human primacy, is the most responsible
and sustainable path forward for India’s judicial ecosystem.
Call
to Action:
To the Honorable Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and esteemed Justices: I urge you to
fast-track the institutionalization of AI-powered tools within the judiciary,
dedicating resources to pilot, refine, and scale such solutions in
collaboration with technologists and legal scholars. Establish clear guidelines
and safeguards ensuring transparency, accountability, and ethical AI usage to
maintain public trust. To the legal fraternity: embrace this digital evolution
with an open mind, participate in training initiatives, and provide
constructive feedback to shape AI systems that truly serve justice. Together,
by harmonizing human empathy with machine precision, we can finally unclog the
judicial bottleneck and deliver timely justice to millions.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
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