The Algorithmic Magistrate: Automated Judicial Orders in Traffic and Municipal Offences and the Constitutional Delegation of Judicial Power
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT: The proliferation of automated traffic enforcement systems across Indian jurisdictions, particularly the e-challan mechanism operational under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, has precipitated a constitutional crisis that remains conspicuously under-litigated. This paper undertakes a rigorous examination of the automated adjudicatory apparatus currently deployed in the State of Chhattisgarh—specifically the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) and the e-challan portal managed by the Chhattisgarh Police—to interrogate whether the issuance of automated notices bearing the imprimatur of judicial authority constitutes an impermissible delegation of judicial power under Article 50 and the broader separation of powers doctrine enshrined within the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Through doctrinal analysis of constitutional jurisprudence spanning In Re: Delhi Laws Act (1951) to Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2021), juxtaposed against a structural examination of the operational architecture of Chhattisgarh's automated traffic enforcement ecosystem, this paper identifies a profound doctrinal lacuna: the legislative authorization for automated notice generation under Section 208 of the Motor Vehicles Act, when operationalized through algorithmic rule-application devoid of human magisterial cognition, effects a de facto transfer of adjudicatory functions from the constitutional court of the Magistrate to the executive apparatus of the Traffic Police. The paper advances the argument that while automation of ministerial functions attendant to judicial proceedings is constitutionally permissible, the algorithmic determination of guilt—even in its inchoate form of a composite notice-cum-order under Section 208—constitutes an unconstitutional erosion of judicial power. The paper concludes by proposing a statutory remediation framework that preserves technological efficiency while mandating a constitutionally compliant human-in-the-loop adjudication mechanism.
Authors: Jabi, Asna, Ahmed, Masood
Institution: Kalinga University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208835849