CJI Bobde Pitches for AI System in SC at Constitution Day Address

Bobde made it clear that there should not be any impression that introduction of AI would ever replace judges.

Chief Justice SA Bobde

(Photo: The Quint)

Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said on Tuesday, 26 November, that the Supreme Court has proposed to introduce a system of artificial intelligence (AI) which would aid in the administration of justice delivery.

The CJI however made it clear that there should not be any impression that introduction of AI would ever substitute the judges.

"We propose to introduce, if possible, a system of artificial intelligence. There are many things which we need to look at before we introduce. We do not want to give the impression that this is ever going to substitute the judges," Justice Bobde said at the Constitution Day function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

He said the Indian Constitution, which is called the "People's Constitution", was drafted on this day in 1949 and this "sacrosanct document" represents the high watermark of consensus in the country' history.

“It does more than merely establishing institutions for governance of India, instead it is truly transformative in character. It marked a transition from the culture of authority of a colonial regime to the culture of justification of democratic purity.”

SA Bobde, Chief Justice of India

Justice Bobde said that the Indian Constitution is reflective of a fine balance of blending diversity with unity, plurality with stability, pragmatism with idealism, formality with adaptability, liberty with security and all within a framework carefully designed to safeguard the basic freedoms.

He said the Constitution provides for an independent judiciary equipped with the power of judicial review.

“Over the years, the indian judiciary led by the Supreme Court of India has facilitated a social revolution infusing it with renewed vigour and vitalism at crucial juncture of our nation’s history and I also led the same impression when I attend international conference. Somehow, our constitution and our judiciary is viewed at very differently these days....”

SA Bobde, Chief Justice of India

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was also present at the function, which was attended by several sitting apex court judges, along with Attorney General K K Venugopal and SCBA President Rakesh Khanna.

Highlighting the significance of Constitution Day, Prasad said 26 November is the day when “we dedicated to ourselves the great document of India that is the Constitution.”

He said the Supreme Court has played a "stellar role" by its independence and extraordinary interpretation of the Constitution.

Prasad, who is also the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, said that India had started a "start up movement" in 2015 and now, India has become the third largest country in terms of start ups.

He said that over 24,000 start-ups have come up since 2015 out of which over 10,000 are start ups on information technology.