LEGAL ASPECTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING IN INDIA: ETHICAL AND PROCEDURAL LIMITS OF AI TOOLS IN JUDICIAL DECISION-MAKING

The increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning by Indian courts is raising novel legal issues as regards the appropriateness of automated processes being utilized in adjudication. Indian courts currently utilize the technology for functions such as transcription, translation, assisting in legal research and case management, but official sources indicate that it is not intended to replace judges or determine outcomes1. I argue that irrespective of any efficiency benefits it may offer, the deployment of AI within or on the fringes of adjudication poses immense legal and constitutional issues for the courts, such as compromising due process, fair trials, transparency, accountability, privacy and judicial independence. Through an examination based on doctrinal and critical legal methods, the article analyzes how AI in courts may undermine both sound adjudication and access to justice, if not adequately controlled. It concludes that the Indian legal system must adopt and enact concrete procedural and ethical limits on its use.