Not only the Number of Judges, but AI will be required to revolutionise the Judicial System
The Union Cabinet has recently approved a proposal to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 38. The proposal is to be implemented through the bill, which would amend the existing 1956 law governing the Court’s sanctioned strength.
The stated reasons, as
published in the newspapers, are rising pendency of cases (reported to be
around 92,000–93,000 cases), the need for quicker disposal of matters, enabling
more Constitution Benches and regular benches to function simultaneously. This
would be the first increase since 2019, when the strength was raised from 32 to
34.
In fact, even this number
of 38 will be inadequate, which should be further increased, as now there is no
dearth of space or infrastructure. However, the pendency cannot be reduced only
by increasing the strength of judges, so long as Artificial Intelligence is not
used effectively. For this purpose, the judges, staff members and advocates
should be properly trained. It should be compulsory for the Bar Associations to
mandatorily train the Advocates. If any advocate is unable to undergo, he/she
should not be allowed to remain in the actual practice. Such advocates can be
effectively used for other purposes. AI must be made compulsory in law schools
and colleges for the benefit of new entrants.
It is everybody's case that delayed justice amounts
to denial of justice, but it should not be hurried justice as well, because
that is bound to recoil upon the Bench, the Bar and the Clients. The training
in AI must be imparted to all related to the judicial process; otherwise, the judicial
system will become a mockery, for which the entire system would be held guilty
by posterity. AI will also be able to eradicate large-scale corruption in the
judiciary.
The Supreme Court now handles not only
constitutional adjudication but also massive special leave jurisdiction under
Article 136, public interest litigation, election disputes, commercial matters,
criminal appeals, and service cases. Therefore, increasing the number of judges
is almost inevitable.
AI can assist justice
but cannot replace judicial reasoning. It may, however, help in identifying
precedents, summarising records, detecting inconsistencies, transcription, translation,
scheduling, and reducing administrative burdens.
Comments