Supreme Court Embraces AI for Case Management, But Keeps Judgments Human-Driven: Law Ministry
AI to Assist, Not Adjudicate
The Supreme Court of India is adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to modernize its case management systems but is steering clear of using these technologies for judicial decision-making. Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a recent parliamentary statement, made it clear that AI will not play a role in passing verdicts or issuing court orders.
“As per the Supreme Court’s current practice, AI and ML tools are not being used for making judicial decisions,” Meghwal confirmed.
AI-Powered Transcriptions Already Live
One of the prominent AI applications now operational is AI-assisted transcription of oral arguments during Constitution Bench hearings. These real-time transcriptions are now available on the Supreme Court’s official website for public access.
The court is planning to extend this AI-driven transcription service to regular hearing days, starting with Thursdays. This move is expected to boost transparency and make court proceedings more accessible to all.
Judgments in 18 Regional Languages
To promote linguistic diversity and legal inclusivity, the court has also started using AI to translate judgments from English into 18 Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Urdu.
This project, developed in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), is part of the Supreme Court’s larger vision of making legal information easily accessible to citizens via the eSCR (electronic Supreme Court Reports) portal.
SUPACE Tool Still in Testing Phase
The Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency (SUPACE), an AI-based tool designed to help analyze case data and suggest relevant precedents, is currently in an experimental phase. Full deployment is awaiting advanced computing resources such as GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) and TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) to handle the processing needs.
AI Collaboration with IIT Madras
The Supreme Court is also working with IIT Madras to develop AI tools aimed at identifying defects in legal documents and filings. A prototype of this tool has already been shared with 200 Advocates-on-Record to collect feedback and refine its performance.
This initiative aims to improve filing accuracy and reduce administrative bottlenecks, making court procedures smoother and faster.
No AI for Legal Research or Case Predictions
The Law Ministry has clarified that while AI will continue to assist in backend processes and administrative tasks, there are no plans to integrate AI for legal research or predictive case analytics within courtroom proceedings.
This cautious approach reflects the judiciary’s intent to use AI as a facilitator, without compromising the human-led judicial process.
