Allahabad HC Says Teacher Can't Be Suspended Merely for Social Media Posts Against Politic

Home / Top Stories "Biggest Threat To Judicial Independence Is Big Tech Algorithms, Not Government": Justice Joymalya Bagchi X Supreme Court Justice Joymalya Bagchi warned that Big Tech algorithms and social media misinformation pose the biggest threat to judicial independence Justice Joymalya Bagchi said Big Tech algorithms and misinformation had emerged as the greatest threat to judicial independence, warned against media trials and unchecked social media outrage, and proposed safeguards for live-streamed court proceedings Supreme Court judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi has cautioned that the gravest threat to judicial independence today comes not from the executive or legislature, but from "machine learning algorithms of the Big Tech" that fuel misinformation, sensationalism and online outrage even before courts deliver their verdicts. Speaking at the fifth Justice H.R. Khanna Memorial National Symposium organised by the Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities (CAN Foundation) on August 1, Justice Bagchi said the digital ecosystem was fundamentally altering public perception of justice and placing unprecedented pressure on judges. "Today, the biggest threat to judicial independence and informed public opinion is not the other organs of the government, but the machine learning algorithms of the big tech, trained to tilt the public opinion against judicial process, not as fair comment, but a curated public outrage for sensationalisation and profit maximisation," Justice Bagchi observed. He warned that social media has increasingly transformed judicial proceedings into public spectacles, where judges are subjected to online abuse for delivering decisions that do not align with popular sentiment. "Dispassionate adjudication is auctioned on the altar of likes, and judges are demonised in the social media marketplace for holding on to an independent view, not endorsed by the uninformed mob," he said. Justice Bagchi noted that the challenge extends beyond the courtroom, as misinformation spreads far more rapidly than any subsequent correction. "The deeper challenge, however, is no longer the camera in the courtroom, but the hydra-headed social media outside it. Our tools, tailored to print and electronic media, were never designed for it. A clip uploaded on one platform regrows on many. Misinformation outruns the correction, " he remarked. Addressing concerns surrounding the live-streaming of court proceedings, Justice Bagchi acknowledged that while the initiative had significantly enhanced transparency, it had also produced unintended consequences. "Digital space is replete with unauthorised video clips of judicial proceedings, extracted or copied from the live-streamed content. Judiciary is trolled by treating tentative oral observations as final verdicts," he observed. He further warned that the widespread reach of live-streaming risks encouraging performative conduct inside courtrooms. "With the immense reach of live-streaming, the courtroom becomes a platform to address a wider audience. This breeds a propensity amongst the stakeholders, both judges and lawyers, for grandstanding. A forensic quest for the truth is altered into a judicial theatre of hyperbole," Justice Bagchi said. Rejecting suggestions that judges should actively counter misinformation through social media, he stressed that judicial tradition demands restraint. "One may argue that the judge may clear misinformation by being on social media himself. However, our tradition prescribes that judges have to live and behave like hermits," he said. Justice Bagchi also underscored that judicial independence requires insulation not only from intimidation but equally from public praise. "A judge is bound by oath to act without fear of the digital mob, without favour towards the applauding crowd, and above all, without followers. For the new media rarely threatens a judge with punishment. It tempts him with approval, and approval corrodes independence more quie