LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE JUSTICE

MORE ACCESSIBLE IN INDIA

India is the country with over 1.4 billion people and boasts one of the largest judicial systems in the
world. This country has been characterized by difficulties in delivering justice efficiently for a long
time. However, with a boom in technology, recent years have transformed access to justice in ways
that make legal processes more inclusive, transparent, and accessible to the masses. Technology has
improved access to justice in India through the digitization process, legal tech innovations, virtual
hearings, e-courts, legal awareness campaigns, and the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial
system. It shows how India is overcoming its judicial challenges through innovation and what is in
store for justice in this digital age. Before dealing with the question of the role of technology, one
needs to understand some of the challenges that the Indian legal system has had to grapple with:

One of the most important needs for judicial reforms in India is its very high case load. As early as
January 2023, India's courts still had more than 4 crore (40 million) pending cases that included civil
and criminal matters under them. This has resulted in enormous delay, sometimes lasting decades.
Such delay often deters citizens from pursuing justice, more so when they do not have sufficient
funds to wage a long, protracted legal battle.

India, composed of a divergent population dispersed over vast geographical expanses, comprises
many who live in rural areas and remote corners. These are places where legal access to courts and
lawyers as well as documentation is not available, making no chance at all for the poor, illiterates,
and women who are marginalized.

Despite possessing one of the largest legal professions in the world, most Indian citizens fail to
understand the legal rights they possess or the means by which they can seek redress. Legal literacy
generally deprives people of the knowledge regarding what remedies may be available to them; if
they do know, it is nearly impossible to find one's way through the labyrinth of legal procedure.

One of the most revolutionary changes in the Indian legal landscape has indeed been digitization in
judicial processes, and that has served as an important tool in directly addressing most of the issues
mentioned above. This is particularly because of the existence of e-Courts and the program, Digital
India. The Government of India started the e-Courts Project in 2005. It is one of the flagship projects,
aiming to integrate the process of the judiciary with technology. It is established to automate
different court processes, improve case management, and ensure greater transparency in the
judicial system. The project has been rolled out in several phases. Today, thousands of courts in India
are digitally connected. Among the key changes that have taken place through the e-Courts project
is implementation of virtual hearing. Post-COVID-19, India hastened the use of video conferencing in
court proceedings. The Supreme Court of India, High Courts, as well as the lower courts, eventually
began to adopt digital hearings wherein lawyers, judges, and litigants could participate in a hearing
from a remote location. This was a bonus for those from far-flung places or those who had
difficulties in transport. Virtual hearings were able to cut the backlog and saved time and costs of all
parties concerned, by the way. Besides virtual hearings, there is online case status tracking and other
services like e-filing of cases, use of digital signatures, and even access to judgments in relation to
the proceedings in their cases. It means a more transparent and effective process such that litigants
don't have to guess their case's movement or results.

Online dispute resolution is a great alternative to litigation in India that started off the ball rolling
with ODR India, Justice by Alok, and Legistify through online mediation and arbitration. People can
resolve their disputes without needing an appearance in court. Such procedures help to expand
justice to people who cannot afford the time, travel, and cost associated with conventional legal
action.

ODR also appeals to a younger, technically sound population who are more comfortable solving
disputes online. The growth in the area of ODR in India will cut down on case backlogs considerably
and thus make legal resolution quicker, more affordable, and more accessible to the common man.

Legal technology, or legal tech, has been a key facilitator in access to justice across India. Companies
in the legal tech segment apply artificial intelligence and machine learning and data analytics to
make legal services more affordable, efficient, and transparent.

Legalese research is yet another field in which technology has been profoundly influential. Lawyers
and law students used to spend hours examining case laws, legal precedents, and statutes to build
cases. There now exists an AI-based platform offering automatic legal research via CaseMine,
Manupatra, and JSTOR. These tools can analyze enormous legal data and thus will provide lawyers
with relevant case laws and judgments in a fraction of time that would take manually.

These make legal research more efficient, thus serving clients better, and much more precisely,
faster. They also come within reach for new and smaller law firms, besides assisting smaller-town or
more remote-area legal professionals.

The other major innovation in legal tech is the creation of platforms for automated document
generation. Included are tools provided by Legal Raasta and Vakil search, which enable customers to
draft contracts, agreements, and petitions without seeking professional legal advice. Although these
services do not supplant the need to consult a lawyer in complex matters, they make basic legal
services generally affordable and available to the masses.

AI is being used in the judiciary for the management of courts to decrease the pendency and to
make them more efficient. The Supreme Court of India has established the use of AI in aiding
automation for case allocation and scheduling. The litigants do not face waiting periods for case
allocation in terms of urgency using machine learning-based algorithms.

AI can also enable the judges to analyze evidence and case details much more quickly, so judgments
could be speeded up and also become accurate. It is still in its nascent stages but promises to be a
leap forward in improving the overall functioning of India's judiciary.

One of the key reasons why so many citizens cannot access justice is ignorance about legal rights and
judicial process. Technology is bridging these gaps through online platforms, legal literacy
campaigns, and social media.

Several programs have stepped forward to create awareness in the citizens about their rights under
law. For example, most of the state legal service authorities have collaborated with National Legal
Services Authority to build legal awareness portals and mobile applications offering free legal
information and advice to all people. Such portals help people source their freedom, rights, and
remedies easily.
Similarly, the Legal Services India website provides free information on laws, legal procedures, and
court rules. Such platforms empowered ordinary citizens, making them understand better the
judicial system and means through which they can seek their rights.

Social media has emerged as a very valuable tool to promote legal awareness. Most of the NGOs,
such legal experts, and institutions have used social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to
empower people with their legal rights and issues. Of late, hashtags like #LegalRightsIndia and
#KnowYourRights have become very popular. They have helped inform people about some
important issues like women's rights and women empowerment, consumer rights, labor laws, etc.

Digital campaigns have increased much awareness among the people and especially encouraged the
residents of far-flung villages to confront the legal system with less apprehension.

Till now, technology has made some great strides in enhancing access to justice in India; however,
there are still challenges that need to be overcome:

However, despite the flourishing digital infrastructure in India, there is still a vast gap between the
population in terms of their digital access, with fewer people having access to reliable internet and
modern devices, mostly in rural areas, where access to legal services may be restricted.

Nowadays, the means of litigation have increased digitally, and it goes without saying that sensitive
personal and legal data must be protected from cyber threats to avoid breaching the trust of the
judiciary system.

The improvement of legal procedures would surely be aided by technology, but professional
practitioners must also be educated to operate effectively with such technologies. Lawyers, judges,
and court workers should be furnished with new expertise in using AI-driven legal research platforms
and digital court management systems.

Availability of legal aid has always been a problem in India, more so with the poor population. The
National Legal Services Authority, that promotes providing free legal services to the poor,
increasingly banked upon the digital platform for the purpose of offering legal assistance to citizens
who require them most. NALSA increased its reach through online platforms, mobile apps, and
websites, helping the common man understand his rights and undertake matters even by taking free
professional legal advice.

For example, NALSA launched the e-Courts portal and the Tele-Law project, which provided a facility
for citizens to seek advice from legal professionals through video or phone consultation and thus
bridged access gaps between rural populations and legal services. This was especially beneficial for
people in remote locations due to the difficulty encountered in accessing physical legal aid services.
Moreover, because they make use of AI and automated legal tools, these services can reach
thousands of people in a go, without a need for human resources.

Combining with Government Schemes

Technology also plays an essential role in the integration of access to justice with various
government welfare schemes. Many people, especially in rural areas, are not aware that there were
government welfare schemes from which they could avail legal aid. Digital platforms have
streamlined and consolidated these welfare and legal services.
For example, the Public Financial Management System or PFMS facilitates quick access to subsidies,
welfare benefits, and other legal entitlements of citizens directly related to their civil rights. Legal
applications like E-District and M-Governance provide citizens with avenues through which they can
submit applications for government schemes, file complaints, or seek information about the status
of their respective cases so that delay in delivering justice is not caused by administrative
bottlenecks.

The integration of legal services with the broader government schemes has streamlined and made
the engagement between citizens and the state more translucent; justice has hence started to roll
into the lives of the public in an integrated, unison digital platform.

By way of blockchain technology, the Indian legal system can revolutionize completely in terms of
transparency and security regarding various legal processes. Blockchain refers to something that is
normally associated with cryptocurrency. It can be used to develop unalterable and tamper-proof
records of legal documents, contracts, and judgments, thereby drastically reducing fraud cases,
manipulation of documents, and corruption.

In India, there are already a lot of attempts initiated for the implementation of blockchain for land
records and property transactions. India Chain is a government-supported initiative to implement
the usage of blockchain for digitizing and securing land record across the country. This way, the
disputes regarding properties, which form the major hassles for Indian courts, would solve much
faster and justly because it will not be possible to tamper or forge the records contained in a
blockchain.

More importantly, blockchain can create smart contracts that are transparent and automatically
enforce law agreements when the presupposed conditions are met. The technology "minimizes the
need for middlemen, reduces legal costs, and accelerates legal processes." The role blockchain may
play in digital notarization and authentication of documents as well as in property transactions is
capable enough to transform almost every aspect of the judicial system of India.

CONCLUSION
Technology has dramatically changed the Indian judicial system, with justice now being more
accessible, more efficient, and even more transparent. Digital initiatives such as e-Courts, virtual
hearings, and ODR platforms make legal proceedings more accessible; legal tech innovations make
legal services more affordable and efficient. More importantly, online platforms have also increased
legal literacy, thereby empowering citizens to navigate the judicial system more confidently.

But there still are problems, like the digital divide, data privacy, and getting lawyers to warm up to
new technologies. As India continues to develop its digital infrastructure and work through those
problems, the prospects for tremendous change in the delivery of justice remain immense. Future
technology could bring India a step closer to providing timely, affordable, and equitable justice to all.