Chief Justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde has hinted at the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) being developed for the court system while making it clear that it will never replace human discretion.
“We have a possibility of developing AI for the court system, only to ensure that the undue delay in justice is prevented,” said Bobde.” However, AI is not going to replace human judges or human discretion.”
To explain further, he stated, “It is only the repetitive, mathematical and mechanical parts of the judgments for which help can be taken from the system, and we are exploring the possibility of implementing it.” He stressed on the requirement of developing AI for judiciary while outlining the number of pending cases in different courts.
He further said, “Some people are in jail for 10-15 years, and we are not in a position to deal with their appeals. The high court’s and Supreme Court take so long, and ultimately the courts feel that it is to release them on bail.” Bobde also endorsed employing every talent and skill to ensure delivery of justice in a reasonable time.
“We must employ every talent, every skill we possess to ensure that justice is received within a reasonable time. Delay injustice can’t be a reason for anybody to take the law into their hands. But it’s crucial for us as courts to ensure there’s no undue delay injustice”, he said.
CJI Bobde also highlighted the requirement for pre-litigation mediation and said, “Pre-litigation mediation is the need of the hour, especially in the backdrop of a significant pendency that the courts are tackling with. There are many areas where pre-litigation mediation could solve the problem.” He also stressed that the position of a judge is unique under the constitution and they have to deal with a variety of problems.
“The foundation of civilisation rests on the law. Judicial officers have to deal with a variety of problems, such as having judges without adequate knowledge, skills and experience which can cause distortion, delay in judgement, and miscarriage of justice”, he said.
Bobde already inaugurated phase one of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru, which three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.
