UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Supreme Court flags the risks of using AI for drafting petitions

Q1. In the context of the Supreme Court of India's recent observations on the use of generative AI in legal drafting, what is meant by an 'AI hallucination'?

  • A. A cybersecurity breach in which an AI system leaks confidential case records to unauthorised users.
  • B. The generation, by a generative AI model, of plausible-sounding but factually false or non-existent outputs such as fabricated case citations.
  • C. A biometric authentication failure in court e-filing portals leading to wrongful rejection of petitions.
  • D. The deliberate fabrication of citations by lawyers using digital document-editing software, without any involvement of machine-learning models.

Q2. With reference to the 'Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts, 2026' published by the Supreme Court of India, consider the following as guiding principles of the framework: 1. Human primacy 2. Transparency and accountability 3. Replacement of judicial discretion by automated adjudication in routine matters 4. Judicial independence Which of the above are correctly identified?

  1. Human primacy
  2. Transparency and accountability
  3. Replacement of judicial discretion by automated adjudication in routine matters
  4. Judicial independence
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q3. Consider the following statements comparing the Supreme Court's White Paper on 'Artificial Intelligence and the Judiciary' (November 2025) with the 'Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts, 2026': 1. The White Paper was released by the Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning, whereas the Draft Regulations were published by the Supreme Court's AI Committee. 2. Unlike the White Paper, the Draft Regulations were opened for stakeholder consultation before formal adoption. 3. Both the White Paper and the Draft Regulations permit AI systems to substitute for judges in routine adjudicatory functions. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The White Paper was released by the Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning, whereas the Draft Regulations were published by the Supreme Court's AI Committee.
  2. Unlike the White Paper, the Draft Regulations were opened for stakeholder consultation before formal adoption.
  3. Both the White Paper and the Draft Regulations permit AI systems to substitute for judges in routine adjudicatory functions.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. The 'Draft Regulations for Use of Artificial Intelligence in Courts, 2026' would, on adoption, govern the deployment of AI in the institutions listed below: 1. The Supreme Court of India 2. The High Courts 3. Tribunals and statutory bodies exercising adjudicatory powers 4. Private commercial arbitration tribunals constituted outside any statutory framework Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified?

  1. The Supreme Court of India
  2. The High Courts
  3. Tribunals and statutory bodies exercising adjudicatory powers
  4. Private commercial arbitration tribunals constituted outside any statutory framework
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4

Q5. As noted in the Supreme Court's White Paper on Artificial Intelligence and the Judiciary (2025), across how many Indian languages does the SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) tool provide AI-assisted translation of judgments?

  • A. 9 languages
  • B. 13 languages
  • C. 19 languages
  • D. 22 languages