India’s Supreme Court releases draft Regulations for Use of AI in Courts, 2026 for public consultation
23 June 2026
The Supreme Court of India’s AI Committee released its draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts, 2026 on June 3, 2026. Stakeholders were invited to provide their comments and suggestions on the draft regulations until June 20, 2026.
The draft regulations govern the responsible use of AI to assist in legal work at all Indian courts, including subordinate courts, district tribunals and statutory adjudicatory bodies. Legal work includes research, drafting assistance, scheduling of hearings, transcription of court proceedings, translation of judgment, citation verification, case management, record management and judicial administration.
Therefore, AI must be used across Indian courts merely to provide assistance. It should not be utilized to decide cases, determine bail eligibility, assess the credibility of witnesses and other parties, influence judicial deliberations and monitor judicial officers, litigants, advocates and the like unless such is authorized by law.
Lawyers are also required to disclose their use of AI to the court upon filing pleadings, documents or evidence.
The draft regulations also propose that a full-time “apex body” at the Supreme Court be established to develop standards and guidelines for AI adoption in the courts as well as to approve AI systems to be used in court processes, among other tasks. This body will be comprised of two Supreme Court judges, two High Court Chief Justices, two High Court judges, a member of a reputable institution, an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and experts in the fields of finance, cybersecurity, data privacy, technology-related laws and AI, among others.
“These regulations aim to govern the use of artificial intelligence in courts, grounded in the principles of human primacy, transparency, accountability, data protection, and judicial independence, while establishing an institutional framework for responsible AI adoption across India’s judicial system,” read the Supreme Court of India’s notice on the public consultation for the draft Regulations.
- Espie Angelica A. de Leon
