Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said artificial intelligence and emerging technologies could pose new challenges before the judiciary in the future, while underlining that technology and justice must function “in harmony,” reports Bar & Bench.
Speaking at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi during the launch of two books authored by Tushar Mehta, The Bench, the Bar and the Bizarre and The Lawful and the Awful, Amit Shah said one of the books examined the implications of modern technology on courts and the justice delivery system, reports Bar & Bench.
“The Bench, the Bar and the Bizarre appears like the work of an inquisitive mind. In it, an attempt has been made, through concrete examples, to explain the kinds of challenges that artificial intelligence and modern technologies may pose before the judiciary in the future,” Amit Shah said.
“It teaches us that while technology and justice must work in harmony, the warnings associated with it must also be understood,” he added.
Amit Shah also spoke about the relationship between the judiciary and the executive, saying democracy derives strength from “mutual respect” rather than confrontation. He said constitutional proprieties and institutional boundaries have remained intact in India over the past 76 years.
“It is a matter of great satisfaction for all of us that constitutional norms and institutional proprieties have remained intact in our country, and through conventions and traditions, we have continued to strengthen them further,” he said.
The Home Minister further said the balance maintained between the executive and judiciary over decades should continue to be strengthened. “The healthy practice that has evolved over the last 75 years between the executive and the judiciary, maintaining balance between the two, must be strengthened further and carried forward collectively by all of us,” Amit Shah said.
At the outset of his address, Amit Shah struck a lighter note, saying he had been advised that his remarks would be viewed through the prism of ties between the government and the judiciary.
“Since there are many members of the media present here, let me clarify at the outset itself that nobody is going to get anything controversial from me today,” he remarked. Shah also said citizens continue to repose faith in the courts when faced with injustice. “There is a deep sense of trust among the people of this country that if injustice is done to them, the Constitution stands awake in protection,” he said.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant presided over the event, while Attorney General R Venkataramani attended as the guest of honour.
