ACCOUNTABILITY BETWEEN BAR AND BENCH FOR AI-HALLUCINATED PRECEDENTS
On 2 July 2026, in Pooja Ramesh Singh v. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. (2026 INSC 668), the Supreme Court set aside the orders of the NCLT and NCLAT admitting a Section 7 insolvency application against Essel Infraprojects Ltd., a corporate guarantor for the defaulted loans of Pan India Utilities Distribution Company Ltd. The NCLT had admitted the application, and the NCLAT had upheld that decision. Both relied on six cited precedents. When the Supreme Court independently examined those citations, however, it found something deeply troubling. Three of the six precedents did not exist at all. Two were genuine judgments, but the paragraphs attributed to them could not be found anywhere in the reported decisions. The sixth citation referred to a real judgment, but to an entirely different case. The Supreme Court consequently remanded the matter to the NCLT for fresh disposal, while making it clear that it was expressing no opinion on the merits. The problem here goes beyond...