Artificial Intelligence And The Directorial Office: Interrogating Legal Personhood And Fiduciary Accountability Under The Companies Act, 2013
- IJLLR Journal
- 7 days ago
- 1 min read
Suhani Jain, Faculty of Law, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
ABSTRACT
The progressive integration of artificial intelligence into corporate governance structures has outpaced the legislative imagination of most jurisdictions, including India. This paper examines whether an AI system can lawfully occupy the office of director under the Companies Act, 2013, engaging the question across three registers: definitional permissibility, fiduciary duty, and legal liability. Through close doctrinal analysis of the Act’s provisions governing directorial appointment, qualification, and accountability, the paper establishes that Indian corporate law is structurally anchored to the natural-person paradigm and cannot presently accommodate AI directorship without foundational legislative intervention. Drawing on comparative material from the European Union’s AI Act, the United Kingdom’s Companies Act, and Delaware corporate law, the paper further argues that the question of whether AI should ever be permitted to exercise directorial power is distinct from and more contested than the prior question of whether it currently can. The paper wraps up by suggesting a layered rule system based on monitored use and clear sharing, keeping human oversight while also adapting to technological changes.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Director, Companies Act 2013, Fiduciary Duty, Legal Personhood, Corporate Governance, India.
