AI Cannot Replace Human Judgment In Legal Profession: Kovind
"We cannot transfer our professional credibility to a software provider": Kovind
VISAKHAPATNAM: Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve efficiency in the legal profession, but human judgment and oversight must remain indispensable to protect the credibility of courts and the rights of litigants, former President Ram Nath Kovind said on Saturday.
Delivering the Justice K. Ramaswamy Endowment Lecture at Dr B.R. Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra University, in Visakhapatnam, he cautioned young advocates against blindly relying on AI-generated legal material, particularly case laws and judicial precedents.
Citing the US case of Mata vs Avianca Inc., in which lawyers were penalised for submitting fictitious case citations generated by AI, he also referred to the Supreme Court case of Pooja Ramesh Singh v. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd., where orders based on fabricated citations were set aside.
Advocates must personally verify legal assertions from authentic sources, including original judgments, rather than rely on software to validate its own output.
"We cannot transfer our professional credibility to a software provider," he observed.
Kovind said technology should democratise access to justice instead of widening the gap between metropolitan law firms and lawyers practising in district courts. He highlighted the importance of translating judgments into regional languages, noting that more than 83,000 Supreme Court judgments were available in 18 Indian languages.
While AI could accelerate translations, human supervision was essential to preserve the nuances and precision of legal terminology, he said.
He urged law schools to adapt their teaching methods to the digital era by emphasising critical thinking, legal research and oral advocacy. Future lawyers should also be trained to examine electronic evidence and identify deepfakes.
Referring to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, he said India’s legal framework had recognised the growing importance of electronic records and digital proceedings.
Paying tribute to Justice K. Ramaswamy, Kovind recalled his contribution to the landmark S.R. Bommai judgment and the constitutional principle of secularism.
Concluding, the former President urged young lawyers to combine technological skills with constitutional values and a commitment to justice.
“Technology provides us with powerful tools, but it will never possess a conscience,” he said.