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“Reunification will be achieved not by politics or subterfuge… but by the openness of truth.”
– Ambassador Spock, “Unification II”
India’s judiciary, once a pillar of trust, now faces questions after shocking events like the ₹50 crore fire linked to a top judge. Restoring faith requires systemic reform—not blame. It’s time to modernize with Blockchain, AI, and Smart Contracts. As someone who helped shape the SWIFT Protocol in the 1990s and advised Fortune 100s and the World Bank, I advocate tech-enabled transparency to protect democracy’s most vital institutions.
Indian judges aren’t required to disclose assets, unlike bureaucrats, creating risky opacity—especially when controversial acquittals and early retirements occur. AI could flag unexplained wealth tied to verdict trends, while Blockchain-based smart contracts can link land, banks, and corporate data into tamper-proof records. This digital transparency would empower regulators to detect corruption in real time and uphold public trust.
Smart Contracts and Judicial Integrity
As I highlighted in my article for ThePrint — “Property, inheritance disputes a hindrance in India’s journey of becoming economic superpower” — integrating Blockchain and AI into deed management and dispute resolution can create a tamper-proof system that not only boosts economic efficiency but also strengthens institutional transparency, including within the judiciary.
Smart contracts—self-executing programs on a blockchain—can enforce compliance automatically. If implemented across public institutions, these could:
- Prevent illicit transfers of government assets or funds to shell companies.
- Tokenize deeds and financial transfers, meaning every transaction leaves a verifiable, immutable trail.
- Trigger automated alerts if large amounts of money are transferred to individuals linked to pending judgments or suspicious legal reversals.
For example, if a high-profile acquittal is followed by a sudden wealth increase for a judge’s relative or close associate, AI linked to blockchain can flag it—triggering a judicial ethics board review, with full privacy protections but complete auditability.
This is not surveillance—it is trust-by-design.
AI isn’t just about automation—it’s about pattern recognition. When applied ethically, AI can analyze behavioral trends such as:
- Reversal of long-standing criminal convictions without compelling new evidence.
- Sudden retirements coinciding with controversial verdicts.
- Abnormal financial activity post-judgment.
No human analyst can track such vast data alone. But with explainable AI models trained on historic verdicts, financial registries, and blockchain-ledgered assets, we can connect the dots in ways that protect both innocent judges and the system as a whole.
Let me be clear: this is not an attack on the judiciary, but an appeal to reinforce its dignity using the very tools that drive our modern financial and governance systems.
Other democracies already integrate similar models. In Estonia, land titles and judicial documents are on blockchain. In the U.S., judicial asset disclosures are mandatory and reviewed annually. India can leapfrog both by combining traditional ethics with modern infrastructure:
- Public Asset Registers: Judges, their spouses, and dependents should declare all movable and immovable assets annually.
- Smart Contract Oversight: Land transactions, government allocations, and high-value judgments can be linked to blockchain-based smart contracts that automate transparency.
- AI Forensic Monitoring: AI engines can help ethics boards, not as judges, but as sentries of deviation detection, flagging outliers and providing early warnings.
- Post-Retirement Audits: Any judge who retires shortly after a controversial ruling should undergo a standard ethics clearance review.
These aren’t hypothetical. As Chief Technology Evangelist in secure cloud integrations using DevSecOps, OAuth 2.0, and tokenized access control, I helped deploy such architectures for multi-national institutions—proving that security, transparency, and accountability are not mutually exclusive.
Conclusion: Digital Dharma for a Digital Republic
The Indian judiciary has carried the torch of democracy through decades of political storms. But to continue being the people’s court, it must embrace Digital Dharma—a commitment to truth, transparency, and trust in the 21st century.
Blockchain and AI are not magic wands. But they are the most powerful tools we have to enforce moral contract law, not just legal text. If justice is to be blind, let it also be verifiable.
Let the judiciary rise to the occasion—not out of pressure, but out of pride in its sacred role. The law must not only be supreme—it must also be seen as incorruptible.
Akshay Sharma is a former Gartner analyst and contributor to both the SWIFT protocol for International Banking and ARINC 629 Databus used in Boeing and Airbus aircraft, for fly-by-wire. He served as CTO for firms supporting the World Bank, India’s DRDO, and Air Force. Now Chief Technology Evangelist for an AI/ML company, he is a board member of Somy Ali’s nonprofit No More Tears, and has over 30 published essays in ThePrint.IN. He draws inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, and is a descendent of Maharishi Bhardwaj, inventor of the Vimanas.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.