Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the face of society in terms of education, healthcare, finance, governance, and law. The Indian legal system has been struggling with a massive burden due to backlogs and procedural delays, presently, with the help of AI, it is improving its overall efficiency and reducing the burden. AI is not only contributing in reducing backlogs but also in translating judgments into other languages, helping the courts with legal research, and so on. Some of the top law colleges in Nashik are integrating the use of AI in their law programs to train students for a future in the Indian legal system.
In 2023, Hon’ble Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court used ChatGPT to gather a broader view on bail jurisprudence. The court used the AI tool for assistance but retained the judgmental power with the judiciary, and accordingly, based on legal parameters, the bail was denied. Presently, the technology is being used in the Indian judiciary for a swift and convenient process by using different AI tools, including ChatGPT.
How AI is Transforming the Indian Judiciary
The Indian judiciary has adopted AI for the improvement of judicial administration, court management, translation of language and most importantly, legal research. The purpose of using these tools is to support the judiciary and court personnel for court administration and research works, legal drafting and interpretation of laws, etc., thereby helping the judges in processing a large amount of information in a reduced time. Some of the AI tools are discussed below:
SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency)
Firstly, SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency), which is an AI-assisted legal research software, is designed to analyse case records, summarise documents, search and identify relevant case laws or precedents and perform legal research. The beauty of this software is that it does not suggest any decision or judicial outcome.
SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software)
Another significant software used by the Indian judiciary is SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software), used for the legal translation of judicial documents in different Indian languages, which helps in removing the barrier for litigants to understand the judgments, thereby making it accessible to all.
SCI-Interact Virtual Assistant
SCI-Interact is a virtual assistant introduced by the Supreme Court of India to provide information about the case status, judgments, cause list, and other procedural information to users. This virtual assistant provides information on administrative functions and helps to reduce the administrative burden of court clerical staff.
LegRAA, ASR-SHRUTI, PANINI and Adalat AI
Apart from these tools, there are some more tools like LegRAA – the Legal Research Analysis Assistant, which, as the name suggests, helps in legal research, ASR-SHRUTI and PANINI for transcription in the court and making it easier to prepare the written documents of hearings and dictation of legal judgments, along with Adalat AI being an AI-assisted platform that records real time court room proceedings. There are many more AI tools used by the Indian judiciary to make their work more effectively and conveniently done.
Undoubtedly, AI is a boon for mankind, but there are some consequences of it too, and to prevent its misuse, the Supreme Court has introduced some guidelines to ensure the efficient use of AI in courts.
Supreme Court Guidelines for Using AI in Courts
On 3rd June 2026, the Supreme Court introduced the Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts, 2026, which are based on some core principles. Instead of using AI as the whole soul of the judiciary and providing it with judgmental power, the proposed guidelines accept it as an assistant for strengthening the judicial system while protecting the judicial dignity. The framework is human-centric and preserves judicial independence, emphasising the rule of explainability and judicial accountability. It respects human oversight and analysis power in different scenarios over AI’s logical strength. In short, despite taking AI as an autonomous legal decision maker, these principles create a blend of technology and judiciary for a more efficient justice system. These guidelines are not enacted presently and are open to public suggestions.
Reason for Introducing the AI Guidelines in the Indian Judiciary
The reason for introducing these guidelines is only to harmonise the technology and judiciary in the justice system. Undoubtedly, AI is useful in the judicial system in various aspects, but the overall dependency on it will not only be harmful for the public but also the judicial system. There are some instances that highlight the misuse of AI by the advocates while drafting the petition by including non-existent citations and getting orders in their favour.
In 2026, there was a case filed before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) where the judgment was pronounced in favour of Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd., the financial creditor, on the basis of six AI-generated, entirely fake precedents. Later, the aggrieved party filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, where it was found that the citations mentioned by the advocate in the proceedings before NCLT to opt order were not in existence and were hallucinated AI-generated citations. The Supreme Court showed its concern regarding this and considered it professional misconduct.
Future of AI in Indian Law
In some countries, although AI tools are used to pronounce judgments in small cases, the right of revision is given to the parties before human judges. The U.S. judiciary is a very good example of this, which uses software, COMPAS (Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions), an AI-assisted tool for case management and decision support by the U.S. judiciary in small cases. This software gives a risk score to judges ranging from 1 to 10, and on the basis of the score, judges decide the bail, sentencing or parole of the offenders. Although the final decision powers are in the hands of human judges, the software is criticised for its lack of transparency and limited explainability.
Conclusion
As India is moving towards a technological shift, the Indian judicial system is getting technologically advanced. The role of AI in the judicial system has two perspectives: one, the use of AI by the judiciary and second, the use of AI in courts. The challenge is how AI can be used in the courts without affecting justice, which is the soul of the judicial system. Secondly, who will be accountable for the consequences of the wrongful act of AI? Fortunately, the Indian justice system believes in human-centric judgments, explainability, accountability along with judicial independence and considers AI only as an assistant for professionals holding law qualifications from some of the best law colleges in Maharashtra. The way the Indian judiciary is managing technology in the courts presents a beautiful and unique blend of technology and law, and shows how human intelligence successfully deals with the complexities without disturbing the original motive of the judiciary.
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