Source: LiveLaw

The Supreme Court published the draft “Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts, 2026” under its AI Committee and invited comments from stakeholders and the public by June 20, 2026. The draft frames AI adoption in the judiciary around principles of human primacy, transparency, accountability, data protection and judicial independence, and is intended to govern AI use in judicial, adjudicatory and administrative functions of the Supreme Court, High Courts, tribunals and statutory adjudicatory commissions.

The draft emphasizes that AI must remain strictly subordinate to human judgment and may only function in an assistive capacity, with accountability for any AI-assisted decisions resting exclusively with the relevant judicial officer. It permits AI for functions such as case management, scheduling, cause-list preparation, transcription, translation, legal research, citation verification, summarisation, accessibility services, anonymisation and administrative tasks, but most uses require prior approval and human supervision; it also mandates disclosure when AI-generated content is used in pleadings or evidence and empowers courts to request details about the AI systems and verification measures. Absolute prohibitions in the draft include using AI to independently adjudicate cases or determine judicial outcomes, and barring AI for risk scoring uses such as predicting recidivism, flight risk, bail eligibility or assessing witness credibility. The draft also forbids AI that predicts future behaviour of parties or witnesses, conducts surveillance of judicial officers or litigants, or employs opaque/unexplainable systems in matters affecting rights or personal liberty. To oversee adoption, the draft proposes a permanent Apex Body at the Supreme Court composed of judges, High Court chief justices, technical and cybersecurity experts, finance specialists and technology-law advocates to set standards, approve systems, coordinate with High Courts and publish annual governance reports. It further envisages AI Committees in the Supreme Court and every High Court, dedicated AI Secretariats, periodic technical, legal and ethical audits, incident reporting mechanisms, cybersecurity safeguards and specialised training for judges, lawyers and court staff.