No formal policy yet on AI use in courts, Centre tells Lok Sabha

The Centre on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that while artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being tested in Indian courts, there is currently no formal policy or binding guidelines governing their use in judicial processes, as such technologies remain in a controlled pilot phase under the e-Courts Project Phase III.

 

Providing details in a written reply, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said AI-based solutions are being deployed only within areas approved under the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Phase III of the eCourts Mission Mode Project.

 

Any operational framework for adopting AI will continue to be governed by the rules of business and policies of the respective high courts, he said.

 

The minister said Phase III of the e-Courts project is being implemented as part of the National e-Governance Plan with an outlay of Rs 7,210 crore to strengthen information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in the judiciary. The objective is to improve judicial productivity and make the justice delivery system more accessible, cost-effective, reliable and transparent.

 

Under the project, Rs 53.57 crore has been earmarked for future technological advancements in AI and blockchain, to integrate modern technologies for a smoother user experience.

 

The Supreme Court has also constituted an Artificial Intelligence Committee to explore the use of AI in the judicial domain.

 

Acknowledging concerns around algorithmic bias, language and translation issues, data privacy and security, and the need for human verification, the minister said the Supreme Court’s e-Committee has set up a sub-committee of six high court judges along with technical experts to strengthen data protection and digital security.

 

He added that AI tools such as the Legal Research Analysis Assistant (LegRAA) and the Digital Courts 2.1 platform, featuring voice-to-text and translation tools, are currently in pilot use, with no systemic bias or unintended issues reported so far.