Use of Artificial Intelligence in Legal Field

As per the information provided by the eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, latest technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subsets Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) are being used in the e-Courts software applications developed under the eCourts Project.Al is being integrated in areas such as translation, prediction and forecast, improving administrative efficiency,automated filing, intelligent scheduling, enhancing the case information system and communicating with the litigants through chatbots.

An AI based software tool namely Legal Research Analysis Assistant (LegRAA) has been developed by the Artificial Intelligence Division of National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the team at Centre of Excellence (eCourts), NIC, Pune under the guidance of eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, to aid judges in legal research, document analysis, and judicial decision support. In addition, Digital Courts 2.1 has been developed to assist judicial officers by providing access to integrated judgment databases, document management with annotations, automated drafting templates and seamless connectivity with the JustIS app.Digital Courts 2.1 is equipped with voice-to-text feature (ASR - SHRUTI) and translation (PANINI) functionalities to assist the judges with order and judgment dictation.

The Supreme Court of India, in close coordination with IIT Madras, has developed and deployed AI and ML based tools integrated with the electronic filing software for identification of defects. The access of the proto-type has been granted to 200 Advocates-on-Record. The Supreme Court of India in collaboration with IIT Madrasis also testing the prototypes of AI and ML tools for curing defects, meta data extraction and integration with the electronic filing module and the case management software, namely Integrated Case Management & Information System (ICMIS).

Further, an AI based tool namely Supreme Court Portal Assistance in Court Efficiency (SUPACE) is in experimental stage of development. This tool is aimed at developing a module to understand the factual matrix of cases with an intelligent search of the precedents apart from identifying the cases.

The current scope of AI based solutions remain limited to controlled pilot deployments with the objective of ensuring responsible, secure, and practical adoption. While e-Committee, Supreme Court of India, is in the process of evaluating these pilot initiatives, the formulation and regulation of operational frameworks in this regard will be governed by the rules of business and policies of the concerned High Courts.

To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India constituted anAI Committee, which is responsible forconceptualizing, implementing and monitoring use of AI in the Indian judiciary. Under the Phase-III of eCourts Project approved for a period of 4 years with effect from 2023-24, a sum of Rs 53.57 crore has been allocated for the component of Future Technological Advancement (AI, Blockchain etc). AI is to be integrated in crucial areas of judiciary including improvement in administrative efficiency, prediction of case pendency, automation of processes and streamlining of court operations. The tools and platforms developed under the eCourts Project using AI are meant to be used by the judiciary across the country, in accordance with the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Phase-III of the eCourts Project.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in Rajya Sabha today.

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Samrat