Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant on Saturday underlined the transformative potential of technology in dismantling traditional barriers to justice and delivering legal aid to the doorstep—or even the palm—of every citizen. Delivering the Justice R.C. Lahoti Memorial Lecture at Manav Rachna University in Faridabad, he urged the reimagination of legal aid in the digital age to foster inclusive justice across India.
Speaking on the theme “Bridging the Gap: Reimagining Legal Aid in the Digital Age for Inclusive Justice in India”, Justice Kant said that while the Constitution mandates free legal aid under Article 39A, access to justice remains elusive for large sections of the population—particularly the rural poor, women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and migrant communities.
“Justice and welfare must begin with the fundamentals. Without them, empowerment remains incomplete,” he remarked, recalling a tribal boy’s account during his visit to Srinagar, where the boy lamented that legal benefits remain out of reach unless basic education and sustenance are ensured.
Digital Inequality: A New Barrier
Justice Kant acknowledged that poverty, illiteracy, caste, gender, and now digital exclusion all act as compounding barriers to justice. He said the digital divide has emerged as the “new face of inequality” and warned that simply creating digital solutions is insufficient—they must be inclusive, accessible, and ethically designed.
“Legal aid must not become a factory of canned responses,” he warned. “There must always be a human fallback—someone to listen, explain, and reassure.”
The Promise of Technology
With over 1.2 billion mobile connections and 85.5% of Indian households owning at least one smartphone, Justice Kant highlighted that mobile-first legal solutions hold the key to a new era of accessible justice.
He proposed a visionary idea—a NALSA Companion App—that could offer multilingual legal guidance using voice, video, and text. Such an app could explain legal rights, connect users to paralegals, and even offer AI-powered simplification of legal documents and judgments in regional languages.
“Imagine pre-recorded legal advice via IVR for the visually impaired or illiterate, and legal aid chatbots answering land rights queries in Tamil,” he suggested, citing successful pilots in Assam, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
He further advocated for the expansion of virtual Lok Adalats, particularly for minor civil and family disputes, to reduce travel, time, and cost for litigants. He noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual hearings helped thousands recover unpaid wages and access justice remotely.
Ethical and Inclusive Design a Must
Justice Kant cautioned against over-reliance on technology without addressing foundational issues like digital literacy and data privacy. He emphasised that platforms must be accessible to persons with disabilities and the digitally illiterate, with built-in safeguards for privacy and confidentiality.
“Digital legal aid platforms must comply with rigorous data protection standards. They must serve, not alienate, the vulnerable,” he said.
He called on educational institutions and civil society to lead nationwide digital literacy campaigns, especially targeting women, senior citizens, and rural youth.
Judiciary and Government Must Collaborate
Pointing to initiatives like Digital India, the e-Courts Mission Mode Project, and the JAM trinity, Justice Kant said that ongoing government-led digitisation efforts must align with justice sector reforms. He urged the judiciary to continually evolve to accommodate digital evidence, electronic records, and remote testimony.
“Technology is not a panacea, but it is an extraordinary enabler,” he concluded. “With collaborative synergy, we can bring the promise of inclusive digital justice closer to reality.”
Justice Kant’s lecture stands as a clarion call for embracing digital transformation in legal aid—rooted not only in technological innovation, but in empathy, equity, and inclusiveness.
