How technology can change access to justice in India

In July this year, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Rajya Sabha that over 4.6 crore cases are pending in various lower courts, over 86,000 in the Supreme Court, while over 63 lakh in various High Courts across India. The country has only around 21 judges per million people, far below the Law Commission’s recommended 50. 

These numbers reflect the severe strain India’s justice system is facing, which leads to chronic delays. Add to this, high legal costs, lack of clarity, and low awareness of the system—more often than not, for citizens, “justice delayed means justice denied.”

In this scenario, technology can be a calculated response to the challenges faced by the justice system in the country. It has given rise to justice tech, which uses technology to make legal systems more efficient, transparent, and inclusive.

Justice Tech has emerged as a response to these systemic challenges by helping people seek timely legal help, understand their rights under the law, and resolve disputes without intimidating legal processes.

Not to be confused with legal tech, which helps lawyers streamline their work, justice tech focuses on access to justice via technology.

How does justice tech make the legal system more accessible and transparent, ultimately leading to swifter justice?

AI and machine learning can be leveraged for legal research and pattern recognition. Chatbots and voice bots can offer legal guidance in all Indian languages. Data platforms can track justice delivery, ODR tools can help resolve disputes, and more.

WhatsApp helplines and mobile-first platforms can be used to explain laws related to domestic violence, labour rights, maintenance, consumer protection, and welfare entitlements in simple language and regional scripts. 

Government initiatives like Tele-Law aim to connect citizens in rural and underserved areas to legal advice through digital means, reducing the need for physical travel and intermediaries. Adalat AI is a startup that offers an end-to-end justice stack and uses AI to eliminate delays, streamline workflows and ensure timely justice.

Automation of legal processes also helps to reduce costs with technology efficiently helping lawyers in case intake, document preparation and follow-up.

The E-Courts Mission Mode Project, a pan-India initiative monitored and funded by the Department of Justice, Minister of Law and Justice aims to digitise case records, enable online filings, and improve case tracking across thousands of courts.

ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) platforms help address consumer complaints, insurance claims or default in payment without resorting to a formal court system.

Another area where justice tech will play an important role is in the use of digital prison management systems and legal access tools to track pending or prolonged cases, thereby improving coordination between prisons, courts and legal aid authorities.

On the flip side, as with any new technology, care must be taken to ensure privacy, consent, confidentiality and accountability. Tech solutions in legal processes must be free from algorithmic bias and be transparent in how decisions are made, and sensitive to legal, social, and cultural contexts.