Justice B R Gavai expressed concerns about edited court clips on social media misrepresenting legal proceedings and emphasized developing guidelines for live-streaming to prevent misinformation while discussing AI’s risks in law.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), has raised concerns over the circulation of edited court hearing clips on social media to sensationalize legal proceedings. Speaking at an event in Kenya on the topic “Leveraging on Technology within the Judiciary,” he emphasized that courts may need to formulate guidelines on live-streaming proceedings to prevent misuse.
Justice Gavai warned that short clips from court hearings are being edited and shared out of context, leading to misinformation and misinterpretation of judicial discussions.
“Short clips from court hearings are often circulated on social media, sometimes in a way that sensationalises the proceedings. These clips, when taken out of context, can lead to misinformation, misinterpretation of judicial discussions, and inaccurate reporting,”
he said.
He also pointed out that content creators, including YouTubers, re-upload judicial recordings as their own, raising intellectual property and ethical concerns.
Discussing the increasing reliance on technology in courts, Justice Gavai highlighted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming legal research but also poses significant risks.
He cited instances where platforms like ChatGPT generated “fake case citations and fabricated legal facts,” leading to professional embarrassment for lawyers.
“While AI can process vast amounts of legal data and provide quick summaries, it lacks the ability to verify sources with human-level discernment,” he warned.
Justice Gavai also noted that AI is being used to predict court outcomes, sparking debates on whether machines can truly grasp the complexities of justice.
“Can a machine, lacking human emotions and moral reasoning, truly grasp the complexities and nuances of legal disputes?” he asked, stressing that AI should act as a tool, not a replacement for human judgment.
Justice Gavai praised the Indian judiciary’s shift towards hybrid video conferencing, calling it a game-changer for accessibility.
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“Lawyers from any part of the country can now log in and present their arguments before the courts, eliminating geographical barriers and reducing logistical challenges,” he said.
This change has particularly benefited junior lawyers and those practicing in lower courts, as they can now argue cases remotely without incurring heavy travel expenses.
The live-streaming of constitutional cases in the Supreme Court has also been a major step toward transparency, with real-time transcription and translation of judgments into regional languages.
Justice Gavai concluded that while technology has revolutionized case management and access to justice, courts must strike a balance between transparency and ethical broadcasting to prevent the misuse of digital advancements.
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