Technology must amplify human judgment, not replace it , says CJI Surya Kant

CJI Surya Kant emphasized that technology should support human judgment in the judiciary, not replace it. Speaking at a Cuttack symposium, he stressed strengthening judicial infrastructure to reduce case backlogs and ensure timely delivery of justice for citizens

Cuttack (Odisha): Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday said technology should amplify human judgment and not replace it. He was addressing a symposium on ‘Ensuring justice for the common man: strategies for reducing litigation costs and delays’ here.

“Pendency of cases in courts clogs every level of the judicial structure, from the trial court to the constitutional court. And when a blockage occurs at the top, the pressure only intensifies below,” he said.

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He also stressed the need to strengthen judicial infrastructure to reduce pendency. “This is because without sufficient courts, even the most sincere judicial system will collapse under logistical strain,” he said.

Justice Kant said technology was very useful during the COVID pandemic. He, however, said that one cannot afford to forget that technology comes with its own shadows.

“In an age of deep fakes and digital arrests, courts cannot afford naive optimism… A reform that excludes the poor, elderly, or digitally unfamiliar is not reform at all, it is regression. That is why I have always maintained that technology must remain a servant of justice, not its substitute. It should amplify human judgment, not replace it,” the CJI said.

He said a system where the executive, legislature, and judiciary do not move in harmony resembles a tricycle missing a wheel — the rule of law cannot balance, let alone move forward.

“And the consequences are stark — laws may be enacted, offences registered, even liberty curtailed, yet the citizen is left waiting for the one thing that completes the promise of justice: a timely trial that the infrastructure is simply too frail to deliver,” he added.

Among others, Orissa High Court Chief Justice Harish Tandon and judges from high courts across India attended the event, which was also joined by Advocate General Pitambar Acharya.