CJI Surya Kant: Judges Use AI Carefully, Won’t Let Technology Influence Court Decisions

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant recently remarked that judges are extremely cautious while using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and that the judiciary will never allow AI to overpower judicial decision-making. He made these observations while hearing a PIL (Karthikeya Rawal v. Union of India) that sought guidelines to prevent the misuse of AI in courts.

A Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was considering a petition raising concerns about the alleged “unregulated” use of generative AI tools during court proceedings. The CJI disagreed with the claim and clarified:

“There is no unregulated use by us. My brothers and sisters on the Bench and I use AI very carefully. We have repeatedly stressed that AI or machine learning should never dominate the judicial process.”

Senior Advocate Anupam Lal Das, appearing for petitioner Karthikeya Rawal, argued that lawyers have started citing AI-generated fake case laws and that this trend poses risks. In response, the CJI said that such false precedents likely come from advocates themselves, and that lawyers must remain vigilant. He warned that presenting fabricated material goes against an advocate’s professional ethics.

The petitioner also referred to the Supreme Court’s white paper on AI use and the Kerala High Court’s recently issued policy for responsible AI use in the district judiciary. The CJI responded that the Supreme Court is already aware of the developments and that such policies require wide internal consultations.

The Bench advised the petitioner to submit any suggestions to the Supreme Court through the administrative route. Following this, the counsel sought permission to withdraw the PIL.

The Court allowed withdrawal and noted in its order:

“Senior counsel seeks permission to withdraw the matter and is permitted to do so. The petitioner may submit suggestions to us on the administrative side.”