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The Supreme Court of India released the Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts, 2026 to establish a comprehensive framework for the responsible, transparent and accountable use of AI in the judiciary. The regulations seek to improve judicial efficiency while ensuring that human judges remain the ultimate decision-makers.

About the Draft Regulations

The Draft Regulations provide a governance framework for integrating AI into judicial administration without compromising judicial independence, due process or fundamental rights.

The regulations are not automatically applicable. They will come into force in the Supreme Court on a date notified by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and separately in each High Court on dates notified by the respective Chief Justices. Different provisions may also be implemented in phases depending on institutional preparedness.

Permissible Uses of AI

The regulations encourage courts to adopt AI where it can improve access to justice, reduce delays and enhance administrative efficiency.

AI may be used for:

• Case management.
• Tranion and translation.
• Legal research.
• Document summarisation.
• Accessibility services.
• Court administration.

Such deployment requires prior written approval from the Supreme Court Apex Body or the concerned High Court AI Committee, and must remain under the supervision of designated judicial officers.

Human Oversight Remains Central

The regulations categorically prohibit algorithmic adjudication.

No judicial decision can be based solely on AI-generated outputs or automated systems. AI can only function as an advisory or assistive tool, while the final judicial determination must always rest with a human judge exercising independent application of mind.

Prohibited Uses of AI

The regulations impose an absolute prohibition on AI applications that may adversely affect personal liberty or due process, including:

• Assessing flight risk.
• Predicting recidivism.
• Determining bail eligibility.
• Evaluating witness credibility.
• Profiling or predicting future conduct of litigants or accused persons.
• Treating AI-generated outputs as independent evidence without disclosure.
• Using black-box (non-explainable) AI systems in matters affecting personal liberty.

Governance Framework

The regulations establish a multi-layered institutional mechanism.

An Apex Body, comprising judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, along with representatives from MeitY and experts in finance and cybersecurity, will prescribe minimum standards and implementation guidelines.

The governance structure also includes:

• Five specialised committees under the Apex Body.
• AI Committees and AI Secretariats in the Supreme Court and every High Court.
• A Centre of Research and Excellence on Artificial Intelligence (CoRE-AI) to evaluate AI tools and support policy development.

Private technology vendors may participate only with prior approval and must comply with strict conditions regarding judicial data ownership, confidentiality, data usage and intellectual property rights.

Safety, Transparency and Accountability

The regulations adopt a lifecycle approach by requiring Technical and Ethical Impact Assessments, controlled testing, periodic legal, technical and cybersecurity audits, maintenance of an AI Register and an AI Incident Database, along with emergency manual fallback mechanisms in case AI systems fail.

Where AI materially assists judicial administration or case management, litigants must be informed in an accessible and timely manner.

The regulations also provide a grievance redressal mechanism, enabling affected parties to approach the concerned court if harm results from any prohibited use of AI.

Significance

The Draft Regulations represent India's first comprehensive attempt to institutionalise responsible AI governance in the judiciary. By permitting AI to improve efficiency while prohibiting its use in judicial decision-making, the framework seeks to balance technological innovation with judicial independence, transparency, accountability and protection of fundamental rights.