'Have seen morphed video', CJI Gavai voices concern on perils of AI

New Delhi: Voicing concern over the perils of artificial intelligence, Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Monday said he was aware of a morphed video circulating on social media that falsely showed a shoe-throwing incident in his courtroom.

A bench of Chief Justice of India and Justice K Vinod Chandran agreed to list for hearing after two weeks a plea that sought framing of guidelines to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools within the judiciary.

During the proceedings, a counsel for the petitioner cautioned against the unchecked adoption of AI tools in court processes.

The court, however, observed that any move to regulate such technologies must come from the executive, not the courts.

The PIL filed by advocate Kartikeya Rawal sought formulation of a legal or policy framework to govern the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.

The bench said, "This is essentially a policy matter. It is for the executive to take a call.”

The plea sought directions to the Centre to enact a law or frame a comprehensive policy to ensure the “regulated and uniform” use of GenAI within judicial systems.

It contended that GenAI models trained on real-world data are prone to replicating, or even amplifying, existing social biases against marginalised communities. Without clear standards on data neutrality and ownership, AI-assisted judicial processes risk compromising citizens’ right to know under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, it claimed.

The court, however, decided to examine the plea which stated, the judicial systems depend heavily on precedent and traceable reasoning. The opacity of GenAI models, often referred to in technology as “black boxes”, means that even developers may not fully understand how conclusions are reached, making oversight difficult.