Where the law is silent, the Constitution must guide the judiciary as its promise of dignity, liberty and equality does not change with technology, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Friday.
The CJI said the judiciary is now confronted with questions which were scarcely imaginable a decade ago, including whether a work generated by artificial intelligence (AI) can claim copyright protection, how the law should respond to deepfakes and how innovation may be encouraged without letting technology undermine individual rights.
“Such questions will rarely find ready answers in the statute book. Where the law is silent, it is the Constitution that must guide us.
“Its promise of dignity, liberty and equality does not change with technology, and every new question must be answered in that light,” CJI Kant said, while speaking at the inaugural event of the celebration of the Delhi High Court’s 60 years.
He added that holding firmly to that promise, the Delhi High Court can meet the unknown with an open mind, with a changing world, without ever losing sight of the person it exists to protect.
The CJI said the Supreme Court has always maintained a special relationship with the Delhi High Court, not because they are practically neighbours, but because it takes off a disproportionate burden of the apex court as compared to other high courts. “Many times, when a matter is mentioned before us, we find ourselves reminding the counsel that the Delhi High Court is just around the corner, and that relief may well await them there before their matter even reaches our board,” he said.
Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath, who also addressed the gathering, praised the Delhi High Court for its contribution to the development of law and its institutional growth over the past six decades.