Analytics And Its Role In Judicial Interpretation: Deciphering Constitution Benches Over 15 Years

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The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India occupies a pivotal role in shaping the nation's judicial framework. Constituted under Article 145(3) of the Constitution, these Benches, comprising a minimum of five judges, are entrusted with the critical responsibility of addressing substantial legal questions concerning constitutional interpretation. Their decisions form the bedrock of India's constitutional jurisprudence, profoundly impacting principles like fundamental rights, federalism, the separation of powers, and individual liberties.

At the time of India's independence, Constitution Benches were intended to be the primary forum for resolving substantial legal questions. During the 1960s, their activity peaked, with nearly 100 Benches comprising five or more judges convening annually. However, by the early 2000s, this number had plummeted to just nine per year, indicating a shift in judicial priorities and growing systemic pressures. Despite the increase in the number of Supreme Court judges from 8 in 1956 to 31 in 2008, this expansion did little to alleviate the challenges of mounting case backlogs and inefficiencies within the judicial system.

This decline in the frequency of Constitution Benches, coupled with persistent challenges like judicial backlogs and inefficiencies, highlights the need for innovative approaches to understand and address these issues. Analytics applied to legal texts offers a promising solution by uncovering hidden patterns, recurring themes, and subtle nuances that traditional methods might miss. By examining extensive legal data, such as case laws and judicial opinions, this approach provides valuable insights into judicial efficiency, case disposal rates, and systemic backlogs. It involves deconstructing judgments into their components, critically analyzing each part, and reassembling them to gain a deeper understanding of the judiciary's functioning.

The analysis of Constitutional Bench judgments reveals evolving patterns in judicial decision-making over three distinct time periods: 2010-2014, 2015-2019, and 2020-2024. These judgments are categorized into four types of opinions: