Can assist, never replace human mind: Supreme Court drafts AI rules for judiciary

Key points

• The Supreme Court has released draft regulations governing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in courts, making it clear that AI can assist the judicial process but can never replace human decision-making.
• The proposed framework states that no judgment, order, sentence or finding of fact and law can be based solely on AI-generated outputs.
• The draft, issued by the Supreme Court's Artificial Intelligence Committee, has been placed in the public domain for comments and suggestions until June 20. If adopted, the regulations will apply to the Supreme Court, High Courts, tribunals and statutory commissions performing adjudicatory functions across India.
• The proposed rules seek to balance technological innovation with judicial independence amid growing use of AI tools in the legal sector.
• The move comes after courts flagged concerns over lawyers and litigants relying on AI-generated content that, in some cases, cited non-existent judgments and legal precedents.