The Gujarat High Court has issued a policy regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in judicial and court administration, stating that AI cannot be used for adjudication processes, including judicial decision-making, drafting of judgments or orders and evaluation of evidence.
The policy, titled 'Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial and Court Administration', prohibits the use of AI for judicial decision-making, judicial reasoning, order or judgment drafting, bail or sentencing considerations, interpretation of facts, weighing of arguments, determination of rights and liabilities, interim orders or final judgments.
The policy also bars entering of confidential court data into public AI tools, including names and addresses of parties or witnesses, details of pending proceedings, privileged communications, sensitive personal data such as health or financial information and any evidence or documents filed in a case.
The policy applies to the entire judicial and administrative framework under the Gujarat High Court, including the high court registry and the district judiciary, which covers all subordinate courts under its jurisdiction.
This comes months after the Supreme Court took exception to a trial court order that cited fake judgments generated using AI, warning that decisions based on 'non-existence' and 'fake' judgments would amount to misconduct.
The high court said the policy was necessary due to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence tools and the associated risks, including hallucinations, bias, confidentiality breaches and erosion of judicial independence.
