AI enhances access to justice in India

The Supreme Court of India has endorsed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal research, process automation, and the translation of court documents, with significant steps taken since February 2023, including the transcription of oral arguments in Constitution Bench cases. As of August 5, 2024, 36,271 Supreme Court judgements have been translated into Hindi, and 17,142 into 16 regional languages, with these available on the e-SCR portal, although no separate funds have been allocated for this project.

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The Supreme Court of India has approved the use of artificial intelligence (AI) language technology for legal research, process automation, and the translation of court documents, according to a PIB release from Shri. Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha last week. AI has also been used to transcribe oral arguments, especially since February 2023 in Constitution Bench cases.

A committee chaired by an Hon’ble Judge of the Supreme Court of India has been formed to oversee the translation of key Supreme Court and High Court decisions into vernacular languages. To speed the translation process, the Committee meets on a regular basis with the High Court Sub-Committees, which are made up of Hon’ble Judges.

The AI Translation Committees of the High Courts oversee the entire process of translating Supreme Court and High Court judgements into vernacular languages. As of now, 8 high courts have already implemented e-High Court Reports (e-HCR), with others in the process of doing so.

The AI Committees of the High Courts have been instructed to request that the various state governments translate all central and state legislation, rules, regulations, and so on into regional language and post it on the state website so that the general public can read it in that language. It has also been emphasised that all state governments must provide full support to their respective high courts in the practice of judgement translation, as this is part of ‘access to justice’ as contemplated by the Indian Constitution.

As of August 5, 2024, 36,271 Supreme Court judgements have been translated in Hindi, while 17,142 judgements of the Supreme Court have been translated in other 16 regional languages, which are available on the e-SCR portal. No separate funds have been allocated to the Supreme Court for this translation project.