Kerala High Court bars judges from using AI tools to pass judgments or grant relief. Cites privacy, data risks, and stresses full judicial responsibility.
Kochi: The Kerala High Court has made history by becoming the first High Court in India to issue specific guidelines on how the District Judiciary should use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
The court has strictly said that judges must never use AI tools to make decisions, give relief, or pass any orders or judgments.
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According to the new policy released by the High Court, most AI platforms like ChatGPT and DeepSeek are cloud-based.
This means that when a judge types something into these tools—like the facts of a case, personal details, private conversations with lawyers, or uploads documents—these inputs might be seen or used by the companies that run the AI tools. That could be a serious privacy issue.
The High Court clearly stated:
“Hence, the use of all cloud-based services should be avoided, except for approved AI tools.”
The court said that while AI is becoming more popular and is helping professionals in many fields including law, it also has dangers if used carelessly.
These include the risk of breaking privacy rules, creating data security issues, and damaging the trust people have in the court system.
As the court said:
“Therefore, the judicial officers and the staff of the District Judiciary are advised to exercise extreme caution while using AI tools.”
The policy further explained that AI tools often give results that are wrong, incomplete, or even biased. That is why even when using approved AI tools, judges must be extremely careful.
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Judges are asked to double-check any result produced by these tools—especially legal references and case citations—to make sure they are correct.
The court warned:
“Any results generated by approved AI tools, including legal citations or references, must be meticulously verified by the judicial officers.”
The rules also stress that AI must not be used to make legal decisions. Judges cannot rely on AI tools for writing judgments or orders in any situation.
The court emphasized that the full responsibility for what is written in an order or judgment lies with the judge, and not with any AI.
The High Court strongly stated:
“AI tools shall not be used to arrive at any findings, reliefs, order or judgment under any circumstances, as the responsibility for the content and integrity of the judicial order, judgment, or any part thereof lies fully with the judges.”
Lastly, the Kerala High Court made it very clear that if anyone in the District Judiciary fails to follow these rules, disciplinary action will be taken. The court reminded everyone that normal rules about disciplining judges and court staff will apply if there is any violation of this AI policy.
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In a firm warning, the court said:
“Violation of the policy may result in disciplinary action, and rules pertaining to disciplinary proceedings shall prevail.”
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