AI for Legal Empowerment: Collaborative Effort Behind Jagrit Chatbot

The rapidly evolving ecosystem of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has opened the doors to a range of possibilities, including in the legal landscape. The integration of this transformative technology has the potential to foster greater public participation in legal processes. One such example is Jagrit– a multilingual chatbot and legal companion that aims to address citizens’ queries on domestic violence laws over WhatsApp and Telegram, using voice notes or text messages. 

The AI-powered chatbot was co-created by Agami, a non-profit organisation advancing ideas that serve justice, in collaboration with iProbono India. The significance of Jagrit lies in the fact that engaging with the legal system in India can be particularly challenging for vulnerable communities, especially women. Despite the prevalence of the problem of domestic violence, women can find it difficult to take action against  abuse. This could be because of stigma and self-blame, or fear of consequences, or being economically dependent on the perpetrator, combined with a lack of awareness about their rights and available support services. 

Jagrit takes on such problems by empowering individuals to make informed decisions, and enhancing their access to the legal system through tools for legal self-help. 

Evolution of Jagrit 

Agami conceptualised and created Jagrit using technical tools like jugalbandi.ai, BHASHINI speech models and GPT-4 reasoning models. iProbono India provided the vetted legal data sets the chatbot uses to generate answers on legal queries. We curated this data set based on the Protection of Women from the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) and its corresponding Rules, feeding Jagrit with reliable and nuanced information on the law. 

However, our intention was to go beyond the legal texts and create a reliable resource that could also address the practical realities and struggles faced by survivors. For this, we drew on the collective expertise of our team of lawyers and social workers to create a set of FAQs. These were supplemented with experiential and contextual knowledge, gained from interactions with communities as well as the justice system.

To ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of these FAQs, we leveraged our network and engaged with multiple stakeholders for specific insights. We started with a legal verification process involving our panel of expert lawyers in Delhi—Bihu Sharma, Abhinav Sekhri, Seema Misra, and Vrinda Bhandari—who have experience in either domestic violence cases, family law, and/or matrimonial court cases. The panel lawyers  tested the chatbot themselves to assess its responses to various questions. Their expertise was instrumental in refining Jagrit’s knowledge base and ensuring that it aligns with current legal practices. 

We also consulted other stakeholders who often serve as the first point of contact for survivors, like  Shakti Shalini, an  NGO working on  gender-based violence. The organisation contributed insights on the range of support services that NGOs offer to women, psycho-social considerations in domestic violence cases, and the challenges women face when navigating the justice system or accessing support. Their insights ensured the FAQs were both holistic and reflect the lived experiences of those affected by domestic violence. 

It’s important to note that Jagrit’s responses are strictly based on the information we have provided by way of the legal texts and FAQs. It cannot access the internet for any other additional information on domestic violence. This restriction underscores the importance of our role in adding a layer of human accountability, to ensure that the responses are context specific and aligned with expert-vetted information only. 

You can watch a short video explaining how Jagrit works here, and explore the chatbot here.

Collaborating to bring Jagrit to life represents a collective effort to democratise legal knowledge, said Rashika Narain, Curator, Agami .“iProbono played a pivotal role in developing extensive knowledge bases, and ensuring these were continually updated to feed Jagrit with accurate information. Together, we have created a tool that not only informs and educates, but also seeks to inspire others in taking an important step towards reducing the access to justice gap in our country.”

From Prototype to Practice

After extensive testing, the Jagrit prototype was presented before the sub-committee of the Supreme Court’s E-committee, with an aim to explore how it can assist citizens in addressing their grievance redressal needs. The committee is now exploring how a tool of this nature can be best utilised to maximise its impact, given its ability to be used in different ways: as part of judicial training, legal aid services at courts, or by being widely disseminated to target beneficiaries. 

At iProbono India, we  envision Jagrit as a vital legal awareness tool for citizens and civil society organisations, fostering legal knowledge and empowerment. To this end, we have used it in community trainings with women. One such training was featured in CNA Insider’s documentary series “Becoming Human“,  showcasing a group of women interacting with the chatbot, and receiving prompt responses to their queries on domestic violence within seconds.

Importantly, Jagrit gives such women an opportunity to access information in real-time, at a safe space of their own choosing. They can discover realistic avenues available to them for help and support, and understand their legal rights, on their phones. 

Jagrit underscores the transformative potential of AI as well as the critical importance of its ethical integration within the legal domain. As we head towards more technology driven solutions, it’s important to realise that AI does not operate in isolation; it is born from human ingenuity and must be coupled with human accountability. By maintaining this balance, we can harness AI’s potential to enhance access to legal information and support, while upholding justice and protecting individual rights.