THE FUTURE OF LEGAL TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA

The Indian legal system has reached a crossroads with respect to its intersection of technology and judicial reforms. This blog explores the journey, applications, and prospects of legal technology in India from the launch of the e-Courts Project in 2005 to the normalization of virtual hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The blog highlights the incorporation of artificial intelligence in the field of legal research and law through platforms like SUPACE and SCC Online AI Search. It also explores the exponential growth in the sector of legal technology startups, along with an investment of ₹7,200 crore in the e-Courts Project Phase III by the Indian government. While legal technology is disruptive and promises to solve issues like case backlog and democratisation of the legal process through online dispute resolution, this blog emphasizes several major obstacles associated with the technology including algorithmic bias, data privacy under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the failure of existing professional codes of conduct for legal professionals. It makes it clear that the test of legal technology's success is not its advancement but its ability to promote justice and good governance.