Judiciary Should Work Like Hospitals 24x7: CJI Surya Kant Pushes For AI-Driven Courts, Faster Justice Delivery
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant speaking at the Madhya Pradesh High Court event on AI, technology and digital transformation in the judiciary
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday strongly pitched for deeper integration of technology and artificial intelligence in the judicial system, saying the time had come for courts to function with the urgency and responsiveness of hospitals operating round the clock.
Speaking at an event organised by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the theme “Fragmentation to Fusion: Empowering Justice via United Digital Platform Integration”, the CJI said the judiciary must evolve into an “immediate relief giving system” capable of addressing the pain, demands and aspirations of ordinary citizens without delay.
“Time has come when the judiciary should work like hospitals 24x7,” CJI Surya Kant said.
“The judiciary needs to address the aspirations, the requirements, the demands, the pains and the agony of the common man with an immediate relief giving system,” he added.
The Chief Justice said technology remained the most effective solution to delays and inefficiencies within the justice delivery system. “Technology is the only effective answer to wastage of judiciary’s time,” he remarked.
According to the CJI, the Indian judiciary had been among the earliest institutions in the country to begin digitising records and court processes. However, he noted that the real transformation came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when courts rapidly adapted to virtual functioning.
“The Indian judiciary was the only judiciary on the globe which could perform its constitutional duty during the pandemic. That was possible only because of adaptability to technology,” he said.
CJI Surya Kant said the judiciary was now committed to making optimum use of emerging technologies, including AI-driven platforms, to improve access to justice and strengthen public confidence in the system.
He said advanced software systems could significantly improve the speed and quality of judicial decision-making. “These softwares will facilitate better and quicker decision-making,” the CJI observed.
He also stressed that technology would help bring greater transparency into judicial functioning. “Transparency has also been an issue, and we all are concerned about it,” he said.
Calling technological advancement a constitutional necessity rather than a matter of convenience, the CJI said digital systems could help the judiciary overcome procedural barriers and become more accessible to citizens who earlier found courts distant or difficult to approach.
“Technological advancement is now constitutional. It is a vehicle through which the judiciary can transcend procedural rigidity and extend its reach to those who earlier found it inaccessible,” he said.
Recently, while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Conclave on Technology and Judicial Education in Gangtok, the CJI had said that while AI can significantly enhance judicial efficiency, it must never replace judicial reasoning. Instead, judges must be equipped to critically evaluate such systems to safeguard the integrity of adjudication. “As we integrate automated tools like AI into our daily work, the judge’s role as guardian of the human element becomes even more significant,” he had said, stressing that judicial education must evolve to identify and counter algorithmic bias.
The CJI had called for a “rigorous and forward-looking” pedagogical shift in judicial training, emphasising that ethics must remain central to the adoption of technology in courts. He noted that while AI tools can assist in identifying patterns in sentencing and bail decisions to ensure consistency, the ultimate control must rest with judges. “We are preparing a generation of jurists who see technology as an aid to their commitment to fairness, not a replacement for it,” he had said.