'AI takes legal action': Delhi gets first 'pilot hybrid court'; here's how it will work

NEW DELHI: The national capital witnessed a significant technological advancement on Friday as Delhi Court unveiled their first 'pilot hybrid court' featuring a 'speech to text facility'.
This AI-equipped court at Tis Hazari Court, inaugurated by acting chief justice of the Delhi high court, justice Manmohan, aims to enhance judicial efficiency and reduce delays.
The newly introduced speech-to-text technology will intelligently convert spoken words into written text, streamlining the process of recording evidence.
The initiative not only promises to save time but also aims to enhance the working capacity of judges and court staff, specifically stenographers.
Justice Manmohan stressed the importance of leveraging technology to improve the legal system and expedite justice delivery.
"Technology must be utilised to enhance the legal system and reduce delays in justice delivery," remarked Justice Manmohan during the inauguration.
He further underlined the necessity of employing technology to ensure efficient functioning and timely justice.
"We have to use and harness technology to improve the legal system to ensure that the people who are accused of crimes are brought to book, and the delays have to be cut short. The only way to ensure that the system works properly is to ensure that good technology is brought into the system," added Justice Manmohan.
The pilot hybrid court utilizes advanced technologies, including 'Automatic Speech Recognition' and 'Large Language Models', to convert spoken words into text efficiently. This digital transition is set to be a powerful tool and a potential game-changer in legal proceedings.
Justice Manmohan pointed out the multifunctional aspect of this technology, indicating that it addresses the acute shortage of stenographers in courts.
He shared the ongoing struggle to meet the demands for stenographers and suggested that the new system could alleviate this issue significantly.
"As a chief justice, the biggest problem that I face is that all judges are requesting a large number of stenographers, and there is not enough pool available. I think this will solve the problem to a large extent because once the speech-to-text facility is available, especially with regard to the recording of evidence by the joint registrars and by the district judiciary, this will ensure that quite a big pool of stenographers becomes available for other purposes," he said.
The event also saw the launch of a 'digital court application' designed to enhance judicial processes by providing judicial officers access to all e-filed cases.
This desktop application comes with functions such as document uploads to ensure all physical documents presented in court are also digitally available in the Case Information System (CIS).
Justice Manmohan praised the IT Committee led by Justice Rajiv Shakdhar, attributing the committee's hard work and dedication to the success of this initiative.
He also acknowledged that there are financial constraints and priorities that need to be balanced to expand these technological advancements further.
"We require a lot more finances. Naturally, the state has its own priorities. So there is a bit of a tussle, or there is a bit of an argument over it, and we have to resolve it," he said.
Justice Manmohan expressed concerns regarding the misuse of technology, warning that it is often employed to violate laws.
He stressed the importance of using technology correctly to combat such violations and to bring people in conformity with the law.
"Today, when I sit in court and decide matters, one of the things that strikes me is that technology is being used to circumvent the laws, to break the laws, to promote infringement.
The only way we can deal with violations and bring people in conformity with the law is again to use technology in the right way," he added.
Efforts are underway to develop hybrid court facilities in all 691 district courtrooms in Delhi, with a budget allocation of approximately Rs 387 crore. Fourteen pilot projects are currently in the pipeline.
The inauguration event was attended by several esteemed members of the judiciary and legal fraternity, including Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, Justice Rajiv Shakdhar, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, Justice Sanjeev Narula, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, Justice Girish Kathpaliya, Principal District and Sessions Judge (Headquarters) Sanjay Garf, Principal District and Sessions Judge (West) Vinod Kumar, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, and Nitin Ahlawat, president of the Delhi bar association.