We Must Renew Our Pledge To Uphold Constitution: CJI DY Chandrachud

"Today marks a momentous occasion in the history of our nation. The Supreme Court of India commemorates the commencement of its Diamond Jubilee Year, marking the moment of its inception on 28 January 1951. I extend my deepest gratitude to the honorable Prime Minister of India, who graciously agreed to be with us, address the audience, and launch the new initiatives of the Supreme Court of India.

I also extend heartfelt gratitude to my esteemed counterparts from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, and Sri Lanka for joining us in commemorating this occasion. India shares longstanding cultural bonds with these nations, and the presence of their Chief Justices today further strengthens our ties.

A conversation about this court must necessarily be prefaced with a conversation about the Constitution of India. The Constitution is not just a legal document; its soul lies in the feeling of mutual respect and responsibility it engenders among fellow citizens and the institutions it creates. The constitutional ideals permeate our nation, guiding the actions and interactions of both the governed and those who govern.

The Supreme Court was established with the idealism of interpreting laws in accordance with the rule of law, free from colonial values and social hierarchies. It serves as a bulwark against injustice, tyranny, and arbitrariness, embodying a court of resolution and justice. The large number of people approaching it is a testament to how well we have succeeded in this role.

As we celebrate this day, we reflect on the decades of hard work by generations of judges and lawyers that have made this a people's court. Our actions have always been guided by Mahatma Gandhi's profound words: to recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen and ask yourself if your contemplated step will be of any use to him. Our decisions, both judicial and administrative, aim to enhance accessibility to the Indian judicial system for the common citizen.

Through its judgments, the Supreme Court has expanded citizens' rights and recognised new rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, such as the right to a speedy trial. On the administrative side, we have worked to eliminate barriers to justice, such as unequal access to legal resources, language barriers, and physical accessibility of courts, to create procedural fairness.

The E-Courts project of the Supreme Court is aimed at enhancing accessibility and transparency in the justice delivery system. This includes transforming the judicial system into a technologically enabled, efficient, accessible, and environmentally friendly institution.

Let me briefly highlight the court's achievements in simplifying its processes. For instance, the filing of cases has become more efficient with the launch of an upgraded e-filing platform in May 2023. This platform has made 24/7 filing of cases simpler, faster, and more convenient. We have also seen a significant rise in e-filings, with nearly one lakh 28,000 e-filings done so far, surpassing physical filings in 25 states.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we swiftly shifted to virtual hearings, and hybrid hearings continue to be a feature of our courts. This democratises access to the Supreme Court, allowing any Indian lawyer, regardless of their location, to argue before this court via video conferencing. We have dealt with over five lakh cases through hybrid hearings.

The live proceedings of the Supreme Court's constitutional bench hearings are popular, reflecting the public's curiosity about our courts and procedures. The court now operates in a near-complete paperless mode, with judges provided with scanned, bookmarked, and digitally signed case records for use in residences and courtrooms. More than 13 lakh legacy and live case records, comprising approximately 10 Crore pages, have been digitised.

We are also implementing futuristic court technology, with three courtrooms already equipped and plans to extend this technology to other courtrooms. This technology redefines the courtroom experience with paperless proceedings, digital libraries, state-of-the-art video conferencing, large video walls, smart monitors, and document visualisers.

Office automation through the adoption of E-office has enabled paperless operation of the Supreme Court's registry, with over 4000 office files processed online. The launch of the SuSwagatam portal has facilitated paperless generation of entry passes for visitors, with over one lakh 23,000 entry passes generated so far.

We are also transcribing oral arguments in matters before constitution benches, accessible on the Supreme Court website. In collaboration with IIT Madras, we are exploring automation and leveraging AI for process efficiency. A team of AI researchers at the SPJIMR, Mumbai, has built a demo of an open-source AI model trained on public domain motor accident cases, capable of automatically extracting parameters from petitions and documents and recommending compensation figures.

Together, e-filing, digitisation, e-courts, and E-office constitute the golden quadrangle of transformation, uplifting the experience of all who interact with the judicial system. Looking to the future, the Supreme Court plans to migrate its digital data to a safe, secure, and sovereign cloud-based infrastructure. This will enhance the IT setup of the court, ensuring privacy, integrity, high availability, and secure accessibility of the court's data.

We are also on the verge of opening a war room equipped with technology to monitor judicial data of the entire country in real time, using the National Judicial Data Grid and I Juris, both of which are information-sharing platforms for the district judiciary. I Juris has been launched by the Supreme Court to monitor statistics of vacancies and infrastructure relating to the judiciary.

Facilitating free accessibility of judgments for citizens and litigants has always been a priority. As of today, 36,209 judgments are uploaded online on the ESCR portal in English, with about 36,000 judgments translated into Hindi and around 11,000 to other Indian languages using AI and machine learning.

The Virtual Courts initiative, implemented in 20 states, has been a game changer in courtroom access and online dispute resolution. This initiative has received 4.37 Crore summons, leading to a total collection of 502 crores of rupees in fines. In terms of electronic transactions, e-courts even surpassed the Indian Railways in 2018.

All 713 district court websites have been migrated to the S3WaaS framework of the National Informatics Center, enhancing accessibility for differently abled users. On the National Judicial Data Grid, information on 3256 courts across the country, including the high courts and the Supreme Court of India, is now readily accessible.

India is undergoing a social and demographic transformation, with women increasingly visible in important positions across various sectors, including the Supreme Court. There is a focus on greater inclusion of marginalised sections of society. The legal profession, traditionally dominated by elite men, is now seeing a significant rise in women's participation, with women constituting 36.3 per cent of the working strength of the district judiciary.

In recent recruitment examinations for junior civil judges in several states, more than 50 per cent of the selected candidates were women. The Supreme Court of India recently hired law clerks cum research associates, with 41 per cent of the candidates being women. Last week, 11 women from different parts of the country were designated as senior advocates in the Supreme Court, a significant step towards inclusion.

We must address structural issues affecting the judiciary, such as case pendency, archaic procedures, and the culture of adjournments. Our efforts should ensure dignity to the district judiciary, which is the first point of contact for our citizens.

As we conclude, let us highlight four areas for difficult conversations:

Moving from an adjournment culture to a culture of professionalism.

Ensuring that the length of oral arguments does not unduly delay judicial outcomes.

Providing a level playing field for first-generation lawyers and those from marginalised segments.

Discussing the possibility of alternatives to long vacations, such as flexi-time for lawyers and judges.

The 75th year since the founding of the Supreme Court provides an opportunity to meet these challenges and step into the future with an honest assessment of our progress. We must reflect on our journey and renew our pledge to uphold the Constitution within and beyond our courtrooms. Our mission to make the judiciary accessible to all requires the support of our high courts. I thank the judges and staff of all the high courts, as well as my colleagues and staff in the Supreme Court, for facilitating the initiatives being launched today.

Thank you, namaskar." - CJI DY Chandrachud

Raw Translation - Edits Underway

This is a raw translation of the address delivered by the Chief Justice of India. The transcript has been posted to our news portal to provide quick highlights to our readers. Please note that edits and refinements are currently underway to enhance the clarity and accuracy of this important speech.