Unchecked AI use in courts could be 'catastrophic': SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday emphasised the need for regulatory safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial proceedings, cautioning that its unregulated application could prove to be "catastrophic".

"...if left unregulated, it may infiltrate our intellectual work ethic and, before long, render us dependent on its vast capabilities," a bench of justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said, stressing that the use of fabricated or non-existent AI-generated legal precedents could hurt the integrity of the justice system.

Describing the use of fake and AI-generated hallucinated legal precedents as "invisible, insidious and catastrophic" to justice, the court likened it to "the release of methyl isocyanate (a highly toxic, flammable and volatile organic compound) in the field of law and justice".


The court directed the Bar Council of India to set up a committee to examine the use of AI in legal practice and adjudication. It also asked the council to look into the issue of members of the bar submitting "fake and hallucinated material before the court as if it were legal precedent".

The council "must take up this issue with utmost seriousness, deliberate earnestly, and prescribe guiding principles to prevent such occurrences, along with the disciplinary action that will follow a violation of the norms," it said.

SC Sets Aside Essel Infraprojects Insolvency Order

The SC also set aside orders passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal admitting Essel Infraprojects, a part of the Essel Group, into insolvency, for relying on non-existent, fake and hallucinated materials and verdicts generated through AI. It sent the matter back to the NCLT for fresh adjudication.