Chief Justice of India Surya Kant used the induction ceremony for newly qualified Advocates-on-Record to deliver a pointed message that goes well beyond a ceremonial welcome, AoRs must personally read, draft, and verify every petition they file before the Supreme Court, and must not outsource that intellectual responsibility to Artificial Intelligence or any external party. At a time when AI-assisted legal drafting is rapidly gaining ground across the profession, the CJI's explicit warning carries immediate and practical significance for every lawyer who holds or aspires to the AoR designation.
The induction ceremony marked the formal entry of a new batch of lawyers into one of the most consequential roles in Indian legal practice, that of Advocate-on-Record, the designated professional through whom all matters are filed before the Supreme Court of India. The CJI's address moved swiftly from congratulation to responsibility, framing the AoR not as a procedural title but as the primary link of accountability between a litigant and the Court.
Against the backdrop of growing reliance on AI tools for legal research and drafting, and a broader culture of junior advocates or external agencies handling paperwork on behalf of senior counsel, the CJI's remarks addressed a profession-wide habit that, in his view, poses a direct threat to the quality and integrity of pleadings placed before the nation's highest court.
The CJI's message was built around a single, non-negotiable premise: every petition bearing an AoR's name is a direct expression of that lawyer's professional judgment, and that judgment cannot be delegated. Stressing that credibility at the Bar is not inherited with seniority but earned from the very first filing, the CJI told the inductees, "Do not treat filing as a routine exercise. Read every brief carefully."
He mandated that pleadings be personally drafted, facts independently verified, and legal grounds rigorously tested, warning against the twin pitfalls of AI-generated drafts and blind reliance on instructions passed down from other counsel. Reminding the new batch that AoRs are not merely members of the Bar but formal officers of the Court upon whose diligence the institution itself depends, the CJI closed with an exhortation to treat every matter as an opportunity to build a lasting professional reputation.
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