Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R. Gavai on Monday said that while the judiciary is aware of the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including the circulation of morphed images targeting judges, the responsibility to regulate such technologies lies with the executive branch, not the courts.
The observation came while a Supreme Court bench, headed by CJI Gavai and comprising Justice K. Vinod Chandran, was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the creation of a legal or policy framework to govern the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.
“We have seen our morphed pictures too,” remarked the CJI during the hearing. “But this is essentially a policy matter. It is for the executive to take a call,” he added. The bench noted that the regulation of emerging technologies falls squarely within the policymaking domain, indicating its reluctance to interfere. The matter has been adjourned for two weeks at the petitioner’s request.
The PIL, filed by advocate Kartikeya Rawal and argued with the assistance of advocate-on-record Abhinav Shrivastava, urged the Centre to frame a comprehensive policy ensuring the regulated and uniform use of Generative AI within judicial systems.
The plea differentiated Generative AI from traditional AI, highlighting its capability to autonomously produce new text, data, and reasoning patterns—raising concerns over “hallucinations”, where AI generates non-existent legal precedents or fabricated citations.
It further warned that the opaque “black box” nature of GenAI could lead to fake case laws, biased interpretations, and arbitrary reasoning, posing risks to Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.