The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help clear more than 60 per cent of India’s litigation backlog if decisions in matters involving routine, small-ticket offences are shifted to automated systems, Supreme Court judge Justice Manmohan said on Saturday.
Justice Manmohan was speaking at the India Law, AI and Tech Summit 2025, organised by Oak Bridge at Delhi, where he delivered the keynote address.
The judge observed that the use of technology should free judges from clerical burdens and allow courts to concentrate on complex adjudication.
He explained that a large portion of India’s case load comprises minor, repetitive disputes that do not require nuanced judicial evaluation.
Describing the category of cases that could be diverted to AI-enabled decision platforms, he said:
“Small ticket offenses… traffic challenges, check bouncing cases. They could be decided by AI because these are matters of routine and can be easily dealt with.”
If such cases were shifted to AI-assisted processes, he said, the impact on pendency would be transformative.
“If that were to happen… more than 60 per cent of our litigation would get resolved and the remaining infrastructure could focus on the core 40 per cent of the litigation," he observed.
He noted that AI could help cluster thousands of similar matters, particularly land acquisition disputes and other mass filings, enabling courts to dispose of entire blocks of cases through a single ruling.
However, he also warned that AI’s pitfalls, including hallucinated case laws, algorithmic bias, and privacy concerns, are real and must be confronted before large-scale deployment.
He went on to inform that the Supreme Court has begun piloting an AI-driven tool called SU-PACE to read case files, extract issues, and flag relevant precedents for judges.
Describing the system as a “digital research assistant”, he said the pilot is designed to reduce the time judges spend navigating bulky paper books and voluminous filings.
“It prepares a summary of the readings, the issues, and calls out the law… It will not give a judgment, but it highlights what is relevant for the judge to consider," he said.
The future, he predicted, will involve hybrid judicial models, where technology takes over routine and administrative burdens, allowing judges to concentrate on matters that require complex reasoning, empathy and constitutional sensitivity.
“The ultimate character of justice is not the algorithm, but the integrity, independence and intellect of the human judge," he added.
Other speakers at the inaugural session of the summit included Dr Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary at the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, Dr. Shailesh V Haribhakti and senior lawyer and President of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), Dr Lalit Bhasin.
In his address, Dr. Bhasin echoed concerns about over-reliance on AI. Recounting an interview exercise with young lawyers, he said,
“All drafts were identical… What does this indicate? It indicates that we have virtually become slaves to the technology, AI. There is very minimal application of mind, and that is a very dangerous course of action so far as this profession is concerned.”
He cautioned that efficient tools cannot distract from the deeper crisis of pendency and structural dysfunction.
“But what about the disposal of the cases?… In 2023-24… there were 5 crore cases pending. Due to this facilitation process, you see the number has gone much beyond 5 crores now.”
Highlighting why delays in litigation persist, Bhasin added,
“We have too many laws. We have outdated laws. We have overlapping laws. We have ill-drafted laws… That is good for the legal profession… but bad for the country, bad for the economy."
He ended his address with a warning about the limits of technology in law.
“Use it as a tool, but don’t become a slave to it… Yes, reliance on technology… is alright up to a certain extent, but it can never be a substitute for the human brain," Dr. Bhasin said.