Justice B.V. Nagarathna said judges who cannot live within their known sources of income and succumb to greed must be removed from the system. She noted that pay and allowances have already increased, so those falling to temptation must be weeded out.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna said that judges who cannot live within their known sources of income and succumb to greed and temptation should be removed from the system.
She also cautioned against any external pressure or pressure coming from “colleagues.”
Speaking on “Reimagining the Judiciary in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” she noted that,
“There has been an adequate increase in salaries and allowances for the Judges in the District Judiciary, thanks to the Pay Commission’s recommendations being accepted by the Supreme Court and implemented by the State Government. Judges who are unable to live within their known sources of income and fall prey to greed and temptation must be weeded out of the system.”
Delivering the address at the 22nd Biennial State-Level Conference of Judicial Officers in Bengaluru, she added,
“I must add that Judges must be free from external pressures or from their colleagues. They must develop courage and independence. There cannot be any ‘ coordination ‘ in decision-making. A tainted decision by a Judge is a black mark on the Judge and on the Judiciary itself. Hence, let us realise and be conscious of our duty to the litigant public and to the nation.”
On the role of artificial intelligence in the judiciary, Justice Nagarathna said that excessive reliance on AI could lead to a form of “cognitive influence.”
She warned that AI can affect human cognition by subtly shaping how people process information and arrive at decisions, and noted that it poses a risk to human cognitive autonomy.
According to her, “classical judicial independence” must now expand to include protection from undue AI influence, ensuring judges retain final authority over their reasoning, while AI use remains limited at the periphery throughout the process.
She said judicial independence today means not only freedom from external power, but also freedom from algorithmic influence.