The Supreme Court’s discovery of AI-generated fake case law in a high-stakes corporate dispute has sparked national concern about the reliability of artificial intelligence in legal practice. This unprecedented incident reveals how easily generative tools can fabricate convincing yet nonexistent precedents, challenging long-held assumptions about trust, verification, and professional responsibility in India’s justice system.

As deepfakes blur the boundary between truth and fiction, India’s draft IT Rules propose strict controls on AI-generated content. While aimed at curbing misuse, these rules ignite a larger debate — can the state protect citizens from deception without crossing into digital censorship?