Petitions coming before the High Court are increasingly reflecting mechanical drafting with glaring gaps, prompting serious concern from the Bench over the unchecked use of artificial intelligence in legal pleadings.
The Kerala High Court AI-generated petitions issue surfaced during the hearing of a writ petition seeking de-freezing of a bank account allegedly linked to financial cyber fraud.
Justice MA Abdul Hakhim, while examining the pleadings, recorded that several writ petitions appear to be prepared using AI tools without proper factual foundation or legal application.
The Court observed that advocates are often unable to respond to even basic queries raised from the contents of their own pleadings. This growing trend, according to the Court, undermines both professional responsibility and the sanctity of judicial proceedings.
The observations were made in the context of a large volume of writ petitions relating to cyber fraud and freezing of bank accounts. The Court noted that nearly 200 such matters are listed on a daily basis, making it one of the highest volume subjects before the High Court. The surge has even led to the creation of a separate subject roster.
Justice Abdul Hakhim pointed out that in many Kerala High Court AI-generated petitions, petitioners merely assert innocence without disclosing the nature of their business or the details of alleged genuine transactions.
The absence of material particulars, especially in matters involving crores of rupees transacted shortly after opening bank accounts, raises serious red flags.
The Court also highlighted that several petitions are filed in the names of young individuals who have barely crossed the age of majority. In many cases, the transaction patterns do not align with the financial profile submitted to banks at the time of account opening.
Adding to the difficulty, the Court expressed concern over the lack of cooperation from investigating agencies located outside Kerala. Notices issued to requisitioning authorities often go unanswered, leaving the Court to rely solely on transaction patterns rather than investigative inputs.
A particularly disturbing revelation was the receipt of a letter from a person lodged in jail, claiming that a writ petition had been filed in his name without his knowledge or consent. This prompted the Court to observe that its jurisdiction is being misused by cyber fraud networks using forged documents and unsuspecting individuals.
To curb such misuse, the Court issued a general procedural direction. The Registry has been instructed to ensure that the Station House Officer having jurisdiction over the petitioner’s address is impleaded as a party in all writ petitions seeking de-freezing of bank accounts.
This condition will apply at the stage of numbering the case, until further orders.
Following this, Yeshwanth Shenoy, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association, addressed a letter to the Chief Justice. He expressed concern over the Court’s remarks concerning young members of the Bar and questioned whether additional procedural requirements could be introduced through judicial orders.
According to the Association, such directions may affect access to justice and conflict with settled principles governing High Court procedure.
Case Details
- Case Title: Blue Star Aluminium and Door House v The Federal Bank Ltd and another
- Court: High Court of Kerala
- Bench: Justice MA Abdul Hakhim
- Case Type: Writ Petition relating to de-freezing of bank account
- Subject: Financial cyber fraud and misuse of writ jurisdiction
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