Is AI of any use in a country’s judicial system? After Singapore’s introduction of Lawnet, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor certainly thinks so. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor states that India’s judicial system is in dire need for a major AI-based revamp, citing an urgent need for a system that helps the country take care of pending cases.
In a call to the authorities, Tharoor has highlighted how Singapore’s LawNet system could help India’s overburdened courts deal with the vast amount of pending cases.
“Singapore’s AI-powered legal research platform, #Lawnet, is a game-changer. Its Gen AI features allow legal professionals to conduct research more efficiently by asking questions in natural language and getting instant, sourced answers from case law and legislation,” Tharoor wrote in his post, which praises the updated system in Singapore.
Shashi Tharoor says India needs AI to help its judiciary
“With over 5 crore cases pending, India’s legal system is in urgent need of innovation. The Indian government, judiciary, and legal community must explore the possibility of a similar AI-driven platform. This could be a powerful tool to significantly reduce judicial pendency and the inordinate delays that plague our justice system,” writes Tharoor in his post.
Tharoor’s post comes at a time when AI is hailed as an easy solution for helping out the government with major issues.
Singapore’s LawNet, a staple for legal professionals since 1990, underwent a transformative upgrade last week with the launch of LawNet 4.0. Developed by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the platform now integrates generative AI capabilities.
It includes a custom GPT-Legal Q&A model trained specifically on Singaporean legal data. Users can pose queries in everyday language—such as “What are the implications of recent contract law amendments?”—and receive contextually relevant and precise responses backed by citations from statutes, case law, and precedents.
Beyond search, LawNet 4.0 introduces AI-generated summaries for over 15,000 unreported judgments, enabling quick insights for the judiciary. SAL officials hail it as a leap toward evolving needs of legal professionals, with early trials showing up to 50 per cent faster research times.
India’s judiciary needs AI help
In India, the National Judicial Data Grid reports over 50 million pending cases as of August 2025 — up from 4.4 crores in 2023. Delays often stretch years, affecting public trust and economic productivity. Initiatives like e-Courts have digitised filings, but critics argue they fall short without AI’s analytical edge.
Even though Tharoor isn’t a part of the ruling party, his post must bring attention of the government to ease up the judiciary system and leverage India’s digital infrastructure to streamline the system.