Virus stimulus for judiciary

Courts must make up for the time lost in hesitating to adopt modern technology

Now that the coronavirus has compelled the judiciary to step firmly into the digital world, the next question would be to sustain the progress towards artificial intelligence (AI). The government and scientists have told us that we have to learn to live with the virus. So the judiciary must also adapt its ways to the new trend. There are some initial fears. The Bar Council of India (BCI) has stated that “litigants are unable to get justice through virtual courts”. It has also remarked that the legal profession is being hijacked by a few prosperous law firms that are digitally advanced. To combat this, it has opened four “virtual hearing rooms” to help average lawyers in Delhi. The Bar has represented to the Chief Justice that the new set-up violated principles of fairness and open court.

Litigants and general public cannot articulate their anxieties but they do have some. The massive disruption caused by the virus has compelled the Supreme Court and other courts to cancel part of their customary summer vacation, a hangover from the colonial era. Still it is hard to see the decision as a great concession to the demands of the time. Doctors, health care personnel, law enforcement authorities are working overtime at 46 degree Celsius, at great personal risk, to save people from the existential threat. There is no reason why the legal profession could not show the same enthusiasm to move the mountains of arrears which are their own creation over decades. They may also follow the example of teachers and students who have practically dispe­nsed with their vacation and the regular school timings. With online technologies, the 10 to 4 pm schedule can be changed to suit the convenience of the judges and counsel, who can set their own time table and speed up hearing. Though the Supreme Court has 30 ju­dges, only half of them have been de­ployed in this hour of crisis. The Delhi High Court is sitting full strength (36) on video.

It could be argued that the devastation caused by the pandemic cannot be compared with the situation in the courts. However, several chief justices have warned in the past that the legal system is collapsing with 30 million arrears of cases. If each case involves, say five parties, those suffering from the tariq pe tariq culture could be 150 million. This humanitarian crisis is not measurable or dramatic like a pandemic: It burns slowly, and its direct victims are shut away in jails that are overcrowded several times over. The majority of them are awaiting trial and many may ultimately be acquitted.
 

The courts have declared that they would take up only urgent cases. But there is a subjective element in the selection. The Chief Justice has absolute discretion in the matter. The long queue in the court of the Chief Justice in the mornings to get an urgent date has been a regular feature for decades. Despite that priorities go awry. The BCI has reported receiving complaints from all over the country alleging judicial cherry-picking. A writ petition moved by a media personality raising his right to freedom of expression might get priority over habeas corpus petitions of commoners who might have to wait for months. While the court has announced the development of modules for e-filing, an electronic mechanism to list cases without human interference should be effectively put in place. This will prevent corruption at all levels.  

Since the introduction of cyber technology was snail-paced so far, the courts have to hurtle down the digital path now. The Chief Justice has acknowledged the need for AI, which can read a million pages a second. Therefore, its verdicts might turn out to be infallible and final, unlike those delivered by human judges which are reviewed several times over. Driverless cars are touted to cause less accidents than those driven by humans. Similarly, “Justice AI Robot” might award better decisions in future. Moreover, it would not aspire for governorship or a seat in the Rajya Sabha and would be uninfluenced by strong political leaders. When this digital goal is achieved, litigants would not have to visit astrologers or temples like those in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh where the deities are trusted to work upon the minds of judges to deliver favourable decisions.