The Supreme Court has brought to an end a writ petition under Article 32 that sought judicial directions to curb the alleged misuse of Artificial Intelligence, observing that the Union Government is already in the process of drafting a regulatory framework.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, noted that the Central Government has initiated public consultation on proposed amendments intended to govern AI-generated content, and therefore considered further judicial intervention unnecessary.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Arvind P. Datar, appearing for Meta Platforms, informed the Court that the plea no longer survives in light of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s move in October to circulate draft modifications to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These amendments aim to introduce layered oversight over AI-produced data, and public responses have already been invited. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Google, conveyed an identical stance.
The public interest litigation, instituted by Advocate Aarati Sah, had urged the Court to direct the Union to formalise a statutory licensing and compliance model for Artificial Intelligence systems, particularly those capable of creating deepfakes or synthetic visual and audio impersonations of real persons. The petitioner also sought mandatory accountability standards for major digital intermediaries, including Meta and Google, and requested that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications be required to frame a comprehensive oversight mechanism.
With the Government signalling progress on policy formation, the Top Court disposed of the matter.
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