India, April 4 -- Technology has not replaced constitutional institutions but has changed the environment in which their legitimacy is formed, Supreme Court Justice Vikram Nath said on Friday, noting that digital integration is no longer an "add-on" but a procedural norm.

He was delivering the 21st Justice PD Desai Memorial Lecture on 'Open Justice in Digital Republic' here.

Justice Nath stated that the live streaming of court proceedings strengthens accountability within the system, widens access for strangers, keeps an institution connected to its people, and can become one of the most effective instruments to improve legal literacy in India.

"Citizens today learn, debate, criticise and participate through phones and platforms. Publi...