A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the High Court of Manipur and the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur for the development of automatic translation software from English to Manipuri in Meitei Mayek and Roman alphabet script on Tuesday.
It was signed in the presence of the Acting Chief Justice MV Muralidaran, Justice A Bimol Singh, chairman of Computer Committee and Artificial Intelligence Committee, Justice A Guneshwar Sharma, member of Computer and Artificial Intelligence Committee by Yumkham Rother, Registrar General, High Court of Manipur and Khumukcham Tomba Singh, Registrar, NIT, Manipur.
The High Court of Manipur gave Administrative and Financial Approval of Rs16,52,000 only on June 6, 2023 for the development of software through consultancy projects by NIT, Manipur. This project is developed as part of the High Court of Manipur's Artificial Intelligence initiative.
This agreement marks an important step forward in High Court efforts to improve the accessibility of legal information for the people of state. The language barrier has been a major impediment to the dissemination of legal knowledge and information in our state.
The translation of High Court and Supreme Court Judgments is an important step towards overcoming this challenge. This will facilitate access to justice for people who do not speak or understand English well, and will help bridge the gap between the judiciary and the common man.
In addition to it, the project will be a game-changer in the legal landscape of Manipur. It is pertinent to mention that the software will be developed to reduce human intervention in translating judicial documents.
This will reduce litigants’ dependence on lawyers to know what transpired in their case before the court.
In addition to it, the High Court has also given administrative approval for a consultation project with NIT, Manipur for identifying the best technical practices to be adopted for the court functioning in the High Court and District Court and to provide training to the technical team for the latest technologies like Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.
