Justice Bindal Flags AI-Powered Legal Searches for Producing Fabricated Judgments

Justice Bindal Warns of ‘Fake Judgments’ Generated by AI, Urges Mentorship for Young Lawyers.

Supreme Court judge Justice Rajesh Bindal on Monday cautioned against the growing reliance on AI-driven legal search tools by young lawyers, warning that such use has led to instances of fabricated or misleading judgments being presented in court—both in India and the United States.

Speaking at a felicitation event organised by the All India Senior Advocates Association in Delhi, Justice Bindal stressed the responsibility of senior lawyers to mentor the younger generation, especially in the age of emerging technologies. He cited examples where AI tools had generated fake or incorrect legal opinions, sometimes based on minimal keyword inputs.

“Sometimes lawyers search on AI using one or two keywords and cite judgments—it may be incorrect, it may even be a minority opinion. But they don’t know that. There have been instances where AI created its own fake judgments and opinions that were presented before courts,” he said. “This is the danger mark of AI—it generates fake judgments and information.”

Justice Bindal highlighted that the core of a judge’s work often depends on the quality of legal research and argumentation presented by both young lawyers and senior counsel. He called on senior advocates to guide the younger Bar on the risks and limitations of relying blindly on AI-generated content.

The event was held to felicitate the four judges recently elevated to the Supreme Court: Justices Joymalya Bagchi, Nilay V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi, and Atul S. Chandurkar. Justice P.B. Varale also attended as a senior member of the Bench, alongside Justice Bindal.

Senior Advocates P. Wilson (who is also a Member of Parliament), Adish Aggarwala, and Pitambari Acharya shared the dais with the judges. During the ceremony, P. Wilson also noted that he had introduced a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament to raise the retirement age for judges.