‘Indian courts have become democratic spaces of discourse’, claims CJI DY Chandrachud

DY Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India on Wednesday said Indian courts have come to be reimagined not as ‘imposing empires’, but as ‘democratic spaces of discourse’. Addressing a session at the J20 summit in Brazil today, he said the Covid-19 have pushed the frontiers of Indian court system. 

“In India, it is quite common for judges to engage with a bar and play the devil's advocate to extract their best response. However, this is sometimes mistaken, as the opinion of the bench and misleading clips of the proceedings are circulated on the internet” DY Chandrachud said as quoted by ANI. 

But fortunately, India has a robust network of legal journalists who live-report the proceedings and help dispel disinformation, the CJI said, adding that the country is using SUVAS, a machine learning, AI-enabled translation tool for the judgements of 16 regional languages. 

So far, more than 36,000 cases have been translated, he said. “There is also live streaming and YouTube recordings of important constitutional cases that provide the complete context,” Chandrachud stated. 

He also highlighted that the Supreme Court provides easy access to its judgments through Digital SCR (Supreme Court Records), offering over 30,000 old judgments free of charge.

Quoting Dr Amartya Sen's saying “the degree to which a person can transform a resource into a functioning”, Chandrachud said efficiency lies not only in outcomes but in processes, which must ensure free and fair hearing. 

He further underlined two critical areas where digitization and technology can enhance justice delivery mechanisms — streamlining pre-decision processes and improving access to and engagement with post-decision measures — while noting that courts worldwide are adopting various technologies including artificial intelligence. 

The J20 Summit, convened and organized by Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF), brings together presidents from the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of G20 member nations, along with delegates from the African Union and the European Union.

It serves as a platform for deliberations on vital issues such as social justice, environmental sustainability, and the utilization of technology to enhance judicial efficacy.

(With ANI inputs)