The Supreme Court of India has started using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance its operations by translating legal documents, improving research, and automating various tasks, as reported by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Since February 2023, AI has been used to transcribe oral arguments in major constitutional cases and translate important Supreme Court and High Court decisions into regional languages. This initiative is overseen by a committee led by a Supreme Court judge.
“The Committee regularly meets with Sub-Committees of High Courts, which include respected judges, to speed up the translation process,” Meghwal said.
AI translation committees in High Courts are closely tracking the progress of these translations. Eight High Courts have already begun publishing translated judgments in their e-High Court Reports (e-HCR), with more High Courts expected to follow soon.
The AI Committees have also encouraged High Courts to ask their state governments to translate all central and state laws, rules, and regulations into regional languages and make them available on state websites.
“All State Governments have been urged to fully support the High Courts in this translation effort, as it is a key part of ensuring ‘access to justice’ as outlined in the Indian Constitution,” Meghwal added.
As of August 5th, AI translation has achieved notable results:
“AI has translated ‘36,271 Supreme Court judgments into Hindi, and 17,142 judgments into 16 other regional languages,'” Meghwal stated. These translations can be accessed through the e-SCR portal.
Remarkably, this project has made substantial progress without any dedicated funding.
