Supreme Court Warns Against AI-Generated Fake Case Citations in Petitions

The Supreme Court of India has raised serious concerns over the growing use of AI tools by lawyers to draft petitions containing fake or misattributed case citations.

The observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice BV Nagarathna. The court flagged instances where AI-drafted petitions cited non-existent cases, such as “Mercy v. Mankind,” or attributed incorrect quotations to genuine judgments, creating additional burdens for judges.

Chief Justice Surya Kant described the practice as “absolutely uncalled for,” emphasizing that reliance on AI for legal drafting cannot replace traditional legal research and responsibility. Justice Nagarathna highlighted that even when citations are technically correct, AI-generated fake quotes are becoming increasingly common, compounding judicial work.

Justice Bagchi lamented the decline in the art of legal drafting, noting that modern petitions often consist merely of quotations from judgments, unlike earlier advocates such as Senior Advocate Ashok Kumar Sen, known for their precise, original pleadings.

The bench’s observations come in the backdrop of recent instances where courts, including the Bombay High Court, have penalized litigants for citing AI-generated fake judgments. The Supreme Court stressed that lawyers remain professionally accountable for all content in their submissions, whether AI-assisted or manually prepared.

This cautionary stance reinforces the importance of accuracy, originality, and professional ethics in legal practice, signaling that courts will scrutinize AI-assisted petitions to prevent misinformation and maintain judicial efficiency.