Supreme Court cracks down on AI generated fake citations in courts - Indian Television Dot Com

The Indian Supreme Court has issued a stern warning regarding the use of artificial intelligence in legal practice after overturning a decision tainted by synthetic misinformation. The court ruled that submitting unverified AI-generated judicial precedents constitutes professional misconduct, emphasizing that legal professionals bear sole responsibility for the authenticity of the authorities they present.

What happened

The intervention followed an independent scrutiny of the Essel Infraprojects insolvency case, which was previously heard by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The Supreme Court discovered that the tribunal had relied upon several judicial citations that were either entirely fictitious or contained fabricated extracts generated by AI. Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe noted that the presence of even an "iota" of hallucinated content undermines the sanctity of the adjudicatory process and cannot be sustained, regardless of whether the material directly influenced the final outcome.

As a result of these findings, the apex court quashed the NCLT’s order and restored the Section 7 insolvency application for a fresh hearing, which was directed to occur within two weeks. To prevent future occurrences, the Supreme Court has ordered the Bar Council of India (BCI) to establish a committee tasked with framing comprehensive guidelines on the use of AI in legal practice. This committee will also recommend specific disciplinary measures for lawyers who submit fake or fabricated legal authorities before the courts, reaffirming that the integrity of judicial proceedings must be protected from the risks of AI-generated misinformation.