Supreme Court of India Judge Justice Manmohan on 19 May called for institutional oversight and enforceable legal accountability for artificial intelligence in the justice system, delivering the Dr. H.R. Bhardwaj Memorial Lecture at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) in Sonipat. Speaking on the theme 'The Emergence of AI and Its Implications for Justice Delivery and Legal Systems,' he argued that human judgment must remain central to judicial processes even as AI tools proliferate.

Justice Manmohan's Core Argument

Justice Manmohan drew a sharp distinction between rule-based software and genuine AI systems. 'If a system is built using techniques that allow the programme to create rules of its own based on input data or data sets provided to the programme, then it is an AI system,' he said. He stressed that the question today is 'no longer whether they will be used or not' but whether their use will be 'structured by clear principles of institutional oversight and enforceable accountability.'

He called for a clear regulatory framework for judicial AI developed specifically in the Indian context, alongside capacity building within the judiciary. Universities, he added, will need to develop courses covering the ethical, constitutional, and procedural dimensions of AI deployment.

Supreme Court's AI Committee and White Paper

Justice Manmohan disclosed that the Supreme Court has constituted an AI committee, chaired by a sitting judge, to lay down a broad strategy and policy with 'adequate guardrails.' He also cited the Supreme Court's White Paper on AI and the Judiciary, released by the Centre for Policy Research and Planning in November 2025, as an authoritative institutional statement.

The White Paper positions AI as an assisted technology capable of supporting legal research, transcription, translation, filing, scrutiny, and administrative analytics — while firmly stating that judges must remain the ultimate decision-makers, with every AI output subject to human verification. 'In consonance with our constitutional mandate, there is human oversight throughout the process,' he said.

He also flagged the issue of privacy and data consent, questioning whether individuals who provide data are 'even aware of the downstream consequences' of inferences drawn from it.

Tribute to Dr. H.R. Bhardwaj

Justice Manmohan paid tribute to Dr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj (17 May 1937 – 8 March 2020), former Union Minister of Law and Justice and former Governor of Karnataka and Kerala, noting that the first phase of the Supreme Court's e-Courts programme was launched during Bhardwaj's tenure as Law Minister. 'Technology and law have always had a very symbiotic relationship,' he said, adding that laws framed for a physical world now require fresh examination in a digital one.

Prof. C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, credited Dr. Bhardwaj with being instrumental in the university's founding and described him as a constitutionalist committed to democratic values, legal aid expansion, and world-class legal education. Bhardwaj's grandson Karn Bhardwaj, an advocate, reflected that the late leader 'had a founding role in the implementation of technology in our justice system as it stands today.'

What This Signals for India's Legal AI Landscape

India currently has no standalone statute governing AI in judicial processes. Justice Manmohan's remarks, coming from a sitting Supreme Court judge, add significant institutional weight to calls for a dedicated regulatory framework. This comes amid growing global momentum — the European Union's AI Act and the United States' executive orders on AI governance have both raised pressure on jurisdictions like India to articulate their own positions.

The lecture concluded with remarks by Prof. Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar of O.P. Jindal Global University. With the Supreme Court's AI committee actively working on policy guardrails, a formal framework could emerge within the next legislative cycle.