Algorithmic Governance And The Right To Explanation: Balancing AI-Driven Decision- Making With Administrative Justice
Rajput Mounica Bai, Sri Prasunna College of Law
ABSTRACT
As the contemporary administrative state increasingly delegates welfare distribution, resource allocation, and risk profiling to Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decision-Making (AI-ADM) systems, public law faces an unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Traditional administrative law is anchored in the twin pillars of natural justice and the duty to give reasons doctrines designed to ensure that state actions are transparent, rational, and contestable. However, the proprietary and complex "black box" nature of machine learning models creates a structural 'rationality gap,' rendering automated decisions opaque to both the citizen and the judiciary. This paper examines the constitutional friction generated when opaque algorithmic classifications undermine the guarantees of equality and due process. Moving beyond technical definitions of model interpretability, the paper argues for a robust administrative doctrine of 'algorithmic legibility,' bridging the gap between technological efficiency and constitutional accountability by embedding mandatory explainability and institutional contestability into India’s digital governance framework.
Keywords: Algorithmic Governance, Right to Explanation, Administrative Justice, Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decision-Making (AI-ADM), Duty to Give Reasons, Constitutional Due Process.
