New Delhi: A software backed by artificial intelligence (AI) will take over the process of bench allocation and case listing in the Supreme Court’s administrative department.
The move would mark a significant change in the top court’s functioning of the administrative department, as it would effectively remove human mediation in the process, a report by Bar and Bench said.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant reportedly made this call to include AI in its administrative processes. Cases are generally allocated to various benches by the CJI, who controls the overall roster, a power that often draws scrutiny towards the office of the Chief Justice.
Move intended to counter systemic challenges
According to the report, the change stemmed from an internal investigation that found two major systemic problems. First, some registry officials had remained in the same job for an extended period of time, and second, the old technological equipment had long provided an easy cover for administrative mistakes, including inconsistent or improper allocation of cases.
Simultaneously, the Supreme Court registry has seen a massive surge in interdepartmental transfers of registry officials in an attempt to deconstruct years of entrenched staff and departmental inefficiency. Another round of transfers is expected before the end of March.
The investigation was triggered when a grave lapse was uncovered during court proceedings before a bench comprising CJI Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi. The bench was hearing a petition questioning whether the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, can continue to exist after the central government enacted the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The state of Uttar Pradesh notified the court that an extremely similar challenge in a previous case was already dismissed by a three-judge bench of former CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Dipankar Datta in December 2022. The court at the time directed the petitioner to pursue remedies before a suitable forum.
Despite the similarity and the dismissal, a petition filed by Irfan Solanki was listed before a new bench. Although Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam requested its withdrawal, CJI Kant refused to let the matter drop, taking strong objection to the lapse.
He directed that the matter remain pending before the court and appropriately concluded. Following this, the CJI announced a deeper administrative probe into the lapses.
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