New Delhi, 02 July (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Thursday said courts must adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards the use of unverified Artificial Intelligence (AI) in judicial decision-making. The Vacation Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha made the observation while setting aside the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in the insolvency matter relating to Essel Infraprojects.

The Supreme Court found that the NCLT had relied on AI-generated false facts while delivering its judgment.

The Court observed that whenever courts rely on judgments or legal material obtained through AI tools, such information must be independently verified before being cited or relied upon. It stressed that there should be zero tolerance for the use of AI-generated material that has not been authenticated.

The Bench further held that if a lawyer cites AI-generated case law or legal material without proper verification, such conduct should be treated as professional misconduct.

The Supreme Court directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to constitute a committee to examine the issue and formulate an appropriate framework regarding the use of AI in legal proceedings.

The Court also ruled that any judgment founded on false facts generated by AI cannot be regarded as a valid judicial decision in the eyes of the law. It said such orders must be set aside, adding that any judgment influenced by fabricated AI-generated information cannot be allowed to stand.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar