The Supreme Court on Monday strongly cautioned a Ludhiana-based garment trader after finding that a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by him had been prepared with the help of multiple AI tools. The bench dismissed the petition, which related to the PM CARES fund.
The matter came up before a bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant, along with Justices Jaymalya Bhakshi and R. Mahadevan. As the hearing began, the Chief Justice questioned the petitioner, Rajnish Sidhu, about his background and education after noticing the nature of the written submissions he was reading out.
The bench asked him to explain a phrase used in the petition—“Fiduciary Risk of Corporate Donors”—and observed that he appeared to be reading from prepared notes. The Chief Justice remarked that it seemed as though someone else had drafted the material and warned that an inquiry by Punjab’s Vigilance Bureau could be ordered.
Sidhu then said a typist associated with the Supreme Court had helped him and that he had paid Rs 1,000 per hour and gifted four garments. He also admitted that, since he could not afford a lawyer, he used three or four AI software tools to prepare the petition.
The judges reprimanded him and warned that filing similar petitions in the future could invite legal action and heavy penalties. The bench also noted that it had dismissed five PILs a day earlier, including one seeking a scientific study on whether onions and garlic contain “negative energy.”
