In its latest initiative, the Supreme Court of India will begin to transcribe the proceedings of the court with the help of Artificial Intelligence, a move that has received a lot of praise from Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
As a first, the top court started using AI and Natural Language Processing technology for live transcription of its hearings on an experimental basis from Tuesday.
Commenting on the same, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said, "We’ll see how it works, especially in the Constitution Bench matters, because then we’ll have a permanent record of arguments. Of course, it helps judges and lawyers, but it will also help our law colleges. They can analyse how matters are argued…It is a huge resource."
How is the Court using AI to transcribe its scripts?
The Supreme Court is using the software Teres by Bangalore-based Nomology Technology Private Limited to transcribe the proceedings of the court.
However, when there are two voices speaking, the system can often be confused and make errors. The CJI cleared that there is a designated team to clean that up by the end of the day.
The transcript will also be shared with lawyers who argued cases for verification, and is likely to be uploaded on the SC website every evening.
Significance of the move
The move has been lauded by eminent lawyers and ministers including Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
“Honble Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud has taken a great initiative in the Supreme Court by using AI to transcribe hearings,” Rijiju tweeted.
Honble Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud has taken a great initiative in the Supreme Court by using AI to transcribe hearings. Supreme Court officially publishes the transcript of the Constitution Bench proceedings.
It can be seen as another significant step towards transparency of the court proceedings after the Supreme Court decided to live stream the proceedings.
The suggestion to transcribe hearings was made by senior advocate Indira Jaising in the plea she had filed seeking live telecast of court proceedings.
Where was it first seen?
The live transcription has been launched in the courtroom of CJI Chandrachud. Rijiju has been pushing for the use of AI in the judicial system as well as arbitration proceedings.
The five-judge Bench headed by the CJI is hearing the case related to the political crisis in Maharashtra.
