Author: Aishwarya Srivastava

The slow churn of India’s judicial system, long synonymous with staggering pendency and procedural delays, is undergoing a quiet but consequential transformation. Artificial intelligence, once confined to experimental pilots, is now embedded across multiple layers of the court system, altering not only administrative efficiency but the very architecture through which justice is processed and delivered. With more than 50 million cases pending across district courts, high courts and the Supreme Court, the pressure to modernise has been acute. The judiciary’s embrace of AI is not driven by technological ambition as much as by institutional necessity. What distinguishes the current phase,…

For most Indians, access to justice has long been shaped by geography. Courts remain physically distant, litigation is costly, and repeated appearances impose heavy social and economic burdens. For a daily wage worker, a senior citizen, or a litigant from a remote district, the courthouse often feels less like a constitutional right and more like an obstacle course. The Supreme Court’s sustained move toward virtual hearings and digital court processes is transforming this reality. What began as an emergency response during the Covid-19 pandemic is evolving into a structural shift in how justice is delivered—and, crucially, who can access it.…