The Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts, 2026 is a draft guideline released by the Supreme Court of India's AI Committee on June 3, 2026, to formalize the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the judicial system. The regulations were created to address the challenges of a large number of pending cases and administrative burdens in Indian courts, while responsibly integrating AI tools that are becoming common globally. The core problem it solves is establishing a framework to improve efficiency and access to justice while protecting fairness and judicial independence.
The key mechanism is the principle of human primacy, which mandates that AI can only be used for assistive functions and cannot replace the independent exercise of judicial authority. Specifically, AI is permitted for administrative tasks like scheduling hearings, legal research, transcription, translation, and document summarization. However, the regulations are categorical that no judicial outcome shall be reached through algorithmic decision-making alone, and AI is banned from predicting crime, assessing bail risk, or deciding if a witness is trustworthy. The draft also proposes the establishment of a full-time apex body at the Supreme Court to develop standards and approve AI systems. This framework connects to the broader concept of data protection and transparency, requiring safeguards for court records and sensitive personal information, and mandating that AI systems must be explainable. As a draft released in 2026, it is a new initiative and has not replaced a previous regulation, but rather seeks to establish the first unified structural and ethical policy framework for AI in the judiciary.