Supreme Court's draft Regulations for Use of AI in Courts, 2026: what's allowed and what's barred

📌 Summary:

• The Supreme Court released the draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts, 2026, to build a governance framework, set general principles and create an institutional structure for AI use in the judiciary; public/stakeholder comments were sought by July 15
• Not automatically binding: the rules take effect for the SC on a date notified by the Chief Justice of India, and separately for each High Court (and its subordinate courts/tribunals) on dates notified by that HC's Chief Justice; different provisions can be phased in
• Permitted uses: courts must 'actively seek' AI that demonstrably improves access to justice, cuts delays or boosts efficiency — case management, transcription, translation, legal research, document summarisation, accessibility and court administration, all requiring written approval by the SC's Apex Body / HC AI Committee and officer supervision
• AI cannot decide cases: no judicial outcome may be reached through algorithmic decision-making alone or solely on AI-generated information; AI's role is only advisory, subject to independent human judicial evaluation
• Absolute, non-derogable prohibitions: 'risk scoring' for flight risk, predicting recidivism, assessing bail eligibility, judging witness credibility, profiling/inferring future conduct of parties/accused/witnesses, submitting AI output as independent evidence without disclosure, and using black-box (unexplainable) AI in matters affecting personal liberty
• Transparency: if a court uses AI to 'materially assist' in case management, document analysis or administration, it must inform the parties in a timely, accessible manner

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity/Governance — judiciary and technology, due-process and personal-liberty safeguards, algorithmic accountability, and the human-in-the-loop principle in judicial decision-making.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The draft is titled 'Regulations for Use of AI in Courts, 2026'; comment deadline July 15, 2026
• It comes into force via notification by the Chief Justice of India (for SC) and respective High Court Chief Justices
• Prohibited uses include recidivism prediction, bail-eligibility scoring and black-box AI in liberty matters

🔑 Key Term: Black-box AI — an AI system whose internal decision-making is not explainable/interpretable, barred here in matters affecting personal liberty.