New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has raised concern over the misuse of artificial intelligence in legal filings. The warning came as India hosts the AI Impact Summit 2026, a global gathering on artificial intelligence.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said some lawyers now rely on AI tools to draft petitions. The court found instances where these petitions cited non existent cases such as Mercy vs Mankind. The bench, which included Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi, called the trend alarming and uncalled for.
The remarks came during a hearing on a public interest litigation filed by academician Roop Rekha Verma. Justice Nagarathna said she recently saw a petition citing the fictitious case Mercy vs Mankind. The Chief Justice referred to a similar episode before Justice Dipankar Datta where several such judgments were cited.
The bench noted another concern. Lawyers sometimes cite real judgments and insert fabricated quotations into them. Judges then face the burden of checking each reference for accuracy. Justice Nagarathna said this practice adds to the workload of the court.
Justice Bagchi observed a decline in drafting standards. He said many special leave petitions now rely on long extracts from earlier judgments and lack clear articulation of legal grounds.
The court’s warning comes as policymakers and technology leaders meet at Bharat Mandapam to discuss expanding AI access and shaping global standards. The contrast highlights the need for ethical use of technology in sensitive fields such as law.
