NEW DELHI, Nov 7: The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday looked highly-impressed in dealing with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) lawyer at the inauguration of the National Judicial Museum and Archive.
To test the AI lawyer’s knowledge, the Chief Justice asked, “Is the death penalty constitutional in India?” The AI lawyer, in the form of a spectacled man wearing an advocate’s bow tie and coat, replied, “Yes, the death penalty is constitutional in India. It is reserved for the rarest of rare cases as determined by the Supreme Court where the crime is exceptionally heinous and warrants such a punishment.”
The Chief Justice looked impressed by the response. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who is set to take over as the next Chief Justice on Monday, was also present. Other Supreme Court judges also attended the inauguration.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Justice said the new museum reflected the ethos of the Supreme Court and its importance for the nation. He said he would want the museum to become an interactive space for the younger generation. “You want to have younger children from schools and colleges, citizens who are not necessarily lawyers and judges to come here and breathe the air we breathe every day in the Court to bring a live experience to them of the importance of the rule of law and the work which all of us as judges and lawyers do,” he said.
The Chief Justice said the museum was not “judge-centric.” “It has segments that we saw on the Constitutional Assembly, those who framed the Constitution… the members of the Bar who contributed with their fearless advocacy to making the Court what it is today. And I am sure that we will be able to get more and more people here. I request all the members of the Bar to come and see the museum. Immediately, I hope in the next week, my successor will also open up the space for the younger generation so that they can breathe the life of justice that we breathe every day.”
The National Judicial Museum, which has come up at the location of the erstwhile judges’ library, has become a point of contention between the top court’s bar association, led by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, and the office of the Chief Justice. The lawyers’ body had demanded a library and lounge at the location where the museum has come up. “Now a museum has apparently been proposed in the erstwhile Judges Library whereas we had demanded a Library, Cafe cum Lounge for the members of the Bar as the present cafeteria is inadequate to cater to the needs of the members of the Bar. We are concerned that despite our objection raised against the proposed Museum in the erstwhile Judges library, work has started for the museum,” the bar association said in a resolution last month.
The former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president and senior lawyer Vikas Singh had earlier wrote a letter to the CJI raising strong objections to the Supreme Court’s decision to convert the old judges’ library into a public museum. He expressed “deep pain and anguish” over infrastructure decisions that, according to him, have overlooked the pressing needs of the legal fraternity.
(Manas Dasgupta)
