AI cannot replace lawyer or judge, human oversight non-negotiable: Justice Surya Kant

Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court has said that Artificial Intelligence cannot replace the lawyer or the judge and justice will always remain a profoundly human enterprise.

“Artificial intelligence may assist in researching authorities, generating drafts, or highlighting inconsistencies, but it cannot perceive the tremor in a witness’s voice, the anguish behind a petition, or the moral weight of a decision. Let us be crystal clear: we are not replacing the lawyer or the judge, we are simply augmenting their reach and refining their capacity to serve. Let technology be the guide and the human govern,” the Supreme Court judge has said while cautioning against overuse of AI.

The judge recently delivered the keynote address on “Technology in the Aid of the Legal Profession – A Global Perspective” at the Bar Association of Sri Lanka’s annual law conference.

"AI tools are not infallible. They can generate inaccuracies, hallucinations or reflect latent biases of their training data. Human oversight is non-negotiable. The lawyer or judge must always remain the final arbiter, checking and validating the AI output," he further said.

Justice Kant noted that technology has transformed court administration by introducing e-filing, digital registries and online hearings. Virtual hearings and case management systems have made access to justice more transparent and efficient, he added.

On new tools and innovations reshaping how justice is delivered, Justice Kant said that members of the legal fraternity must stay flexible and willing to learn, adapting to change without losing sight of their core values. “New models will emerge, systems will evolve, and challenges will multiply. Our duty is to remain learners, open, adaptive, reflective and ready to embrace what aids in the pursuit of justice and discard what does not. For, at the end of the day, technology may illuminate the path - but it is humanity that must lead the way,” he added.

Recently, Justice Kant also urged the judiciary to evolve and innovate to address emerging challenges such as digital exclusion, displacement, climate vulnerability, and transnational migration, warning that failure to do so could render the justice system “its own shadow.”

Delivering the inaugural BASL Human Rights Oration on the theme “Strengthening a Legal Aid System to Achieve Human Rights of Marginalised and Minorities: The Indian Case Study,” Justice Kant highlighted the central role of legal aid in reinforcing the democratic conscience of India.

Describing justice as a “living promise,” he said, “The story of India’s legal-aid movement is, at its heart, the story of a democracy’s conscience. It proves that even in a vast and complex society, justice can be made real when vision is matched by institutional will.”

Justice Kant emphasised that while India has made significant strides in legal-aid provision, new societal challenges require continuous innovation. “Justice must evolve with society, or it risks becoming its shadow,” he said, underlining the importance of modernising outreach and deepening inclusion to ensure legal protections reach the last person first.

He also highlighted the active role of young lawyers and law students, engaged through legal-aid clinics, paralegal training, and the Panel Lawyer system, which currently includes over 34,000 lawyers. “India’s youth have embraced legal aid not as charity, but as responsibility,” he said, noting that this inter-generational commitment ensures that “the Constitution’s promise breathes anew every time a citizen’s rights are restored.”