BHUBANESWAR: Advancement in technology and advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may have enhanced efficiency in the functioning of courts but it cannot be a substitute for conscious compassion and independent legal reasoning, said Chief Justice Harish Tandon of Orissa High Court on Saturday.
Addressing a special convocation of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) University as the chief guest, Justice Tandon said the development has triggered a paradigm shift in conventional court practice but it can never replace human judgement. “I am not averse to technology as it improves efficiency and helps process information at jet speed but it cannot replace compassion and reasoning,” he said.
Stating that the true measure of the society was founded on the fairness of its laws, the Chief Justice said the rule of law was not an abstract version but encompassed its morality, integrity and transparency in pursuit of achieving the avowed objective largely founded on the dispensation of justice.
“The constitutional morality is the guiding elixir to sustain the federal system preserving and protecting the meaningful life to the ideals embedded therein. It constantly reminds us that such progress could be anchored in fairness, dignity and accountability,” he said.
Referring to a judgement of former CJI Justice DY Chandrachud in the Santosh Singh vs Union of India case, Justice Tandon said, “The true strength of our republic lies not merely on various articles incorporated in the constitution but in the commitment of those entrusted with its implementation.”
During the event, PhD degrees were conferred on more than 300 doctoral candidates. The university also conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) on Orissa HC judge, Justice Krishna Shripad Dixit.
Addressing the event, Justice Dixit said the budgetary allocation for research was ‘abysmally low’ in India. Citing the example of Israel, he said after the country came into existence in 1948, its first PM Ben Gurion invited Jewish scholars from all over the world to return to Israel to help it rise. Fifteen judges from Orissa HC and five judges from Karnataka HC attended the event. SOA University chancellor Prof Amit Banerjee and V-C Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda also spoke.
