Supreme Court Justice Vikram Nath cautioned against overreliance on AI in judicial decision-making, stressing that conscience must guide judges. While acknowledging AI’s utility, he warned adjudication requires empathy, discretion, and human understanding beyond algorithmic outputs or mechanical processes.
Supreme Court Justice Vikram Nath warned that judges should let their conscience, not the algorithms behind artificial intelligence (AI) or other technological aids, guide them when dispensing justice.
The judge acknowledged that AI is the next wave of judicial innovation and can support courts in tasks like case management, legal research, and translation and transcription of proceedings. Yet he stressed the need to limit AI’s role so that adjudication does not become a mere mechanical exercise, warning that algorithmic systems can mirror biases present in their training data.
Therefore, AI should serve only as an aid to judges, not replace judicial decision-making, Justice Nath said.
He added,
“Adjudication is not a purely mechanical exercise. It involves interpretation, discretion, and a nuanced understanding of facts and human circumstances. It requires empathy, fairness, and a sense of justice that cannot be reduced to algorithmic outputs,”
He reiterated that justice must be shaped by human conscience rather than by algorithms powering technological tools.
He said,
“Technology will continue to evolve, systems will improve, facilities will expand, but at the heart of the justice delivery system will always remain the judge, guided not by algorithms, but by conscience, not by convenience, but by duty,”
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Speaking at an event organised by the Gujarat Legal Services Authority, Justice Nath also addressed the persistent problem of case pendency, observing that delays are not merely numbers but affect real people.
Noting that each pending case represents a litigant facing personal, financial or social consequences, he said,
“The issue of pendency is widely known, but pendency is not merely a statistical problem; it is a human problem,”
He argued that digital tools are essential to broaden access to justice, especially for those in remote or economically disadvantaged areas. Citing initiatives such as the eCourts Mission Mode Project, e-filing and virtual hearings, he said technology has increased transparency and reduced reliance on the physical presence of litigants and advocates. He also highlighted live-streaming and translation tools as means to make courts more accessible and to bolster open justice.
Justice Nath highlighted the pivotal role of the district judiciary, calling trial courts the foundation of the justice delivery system where facts are established and citizens first interact with the legal process.
He said,
“It is the district judiciary that forms the bedrock of our justice delivery system,”
Invoking Edward Abbott Parry’s Seven Lamps of Advocacy, he said judges need qualities such as courage, industry, clarity and judgment. He observed that judicial independence requires the bravery to make decisions that may be unpopular but necessary, and he emphasised the need for clear judicial writing.
He said,
“Judicial writing must not seek to impress; it must seek to explain. The authority of a judgment lies in its reasoning, not in its rhetoric,”
He concluded by insisting that honesty is not an optional virtue for judges but “a sine qua non” of judicial life.
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