When AI Enters The Judgment: Judicial Accountability And The Duty To Give Reasons In India
S. Mahesh Kumar, MKPM RV Institute of Legal Studies, Bengaluru
ABSTRACT
The increasing use of artificial intelligence in legal research and judicial administration raises the question of how best to reap the benefits of technology while upholding judicial integrity.
This dilemma took on a concrete form when it was revealed that the publicly available version of Gayathri v. Guru Reddy Raju S.N., O.S. No. 4956/2011, contained apparent AI prompts and chatbot content. Beyond the issue of drafting mistakes, this incident raises questions about the verification of legal reasoning, liability for judicial documents and public trust in adjudication.
This article will explore the incident in the context of the constitutional principles of non-arbitrariness and fair procedure as well as the judicial mandate to provide reasoned decisions. It will also examine the Supreme Court’s approach to fictitious legal authorities generated by AI in the case of Pooja Ramesh Singh v. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. In doing so, this article will argue that while assistance from AI may be appropriate, the responsibility of evaluating evidence, applying law and approving the final judgment must remain with the human adjudicator.
The article will propose a balanced framework based on human verification, pre-publication review, document integrity safeguards and context-sensitive remedies. The goal will be to develop a model of judicial AI governance that promotes efficiency without undermining accountability, procedural fairness or the rule of law.
