Lok Sabha Question No. 949 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Proceedings of Supreme Court
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 949 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 8th DECEMBER, 2023

## Use of Artificial Intelligence in Proceedings of Supreme Court

949. SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

Will the MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there are some Reports that suggest that the Supreme Court has been employing artificial intelligence to transcribe its proceedings live on a trial basis and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Supreme Court has adopted the artificial intelligence technology on a full-time basis across all its court rooms;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  have  any  plans  or  policy  to  introduce  artificial intelligence technology in Indian courts and tribunals and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  whether  Indian  courts  and  tribunals  across  the  country  have  adopted  the artificial  intelligence  technology  to  make  the  justice  system  more  efficient and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a)  to  (c)  :  The  Supreme  Court  of  India  has  adopted  the  use  of  Artificial Intelligence(AI)  language  technology  in  translation  of  judicial  documents  and use of Al in Legal Research Assistance on judicial side. The AI Committee of Supreme Court has  identified  the  use  of  Al  on  the  administrative  side  viz.  in process automation, to keep track of pending cases and to have a special focus

on  old  cases  &  cases  pertaining  to  senior  citizens,  women  and  marginalised sections.

The  Supreme  Court  of  India  has  deployed  use  of  artificial  intelligence technology  for  transcribing  oral  arguments,  particularly  in  the  Constitution Bench  matters  since  February  2023.  In  almost  10  (main)  Constitution  Bench matters,  transcripts  of  arguments  by  use  of  artificial  intelligence  have  been generated  and  the  same  are  published  through  the  official  website  of  the Supreme  Court  of  India.The  use  of  artificial  intelligence  tool  technology  is presently done on trial basis for Constitution Bench matters only.

(d)  and  (e)  :  eCourts    Mission  Mode  Project  is  being  implemented  under  the joint partnership of Department  of Justice, Ministry of Law  &  Justice, Government of India and e-Committee, Supreme Court of India, in a decentralized manner through the respective High Courts.The Union Cabinet in its  meeting  held  on  13.09.2023  approved  eCourts  Phase-III  with  a  budgetary outlay  of  Rs.7210  crore.Taking  the  gains  of  Phase-I  and  Phase-II  to  the  next level,  the  eCourts  Phase-III  aims  to  usher  in  a  regime  of  maximum  ease  of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts.

In eCourts Project Phase-III, one of the component is 'Future Technological Advancements' that includes the latest technologies like AI and its subsets like Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) etc.

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