Author: Sdlawcollege

Artificial Intelligence and the Law: A Future We Must Shape Wisely

Bipasa Majhi (Student of 6th Semester)

Artificial Intelligence is that advancement of the Information Technology, which has developed the machines to work and also think like the human beings. Basically, with the help of this development of Artificial Intelligence the workload of the homo sapiens involving cognitive labour has decreased to a greater extent. Also, in the current scenario the Artificial Intelligence has changed how the people are living their ordinary lives, almost transforming the same into an extra-ordinary one.

Although, our country does not have any such legal provisions which are directly related to the usage of the Artificial Intelligence, however, one certain legal provision of the existing Indian Law, i.e., the Information Technology Act, 2000 mainly Section 43A plays a significant role in governing the various facets of the Artificial Intelligence. Along with the Legislature, the Indian Judiciary is also facing various longstanding challenges, such as, case backlogs, language barriers, etc., which are also pointing towards the urgent need for the digital modernization. Hence, the Indian Parliament is trying actively in drafting and enforcing a specific law, namely, Digital India Act, 2023 (proposed), which can be of greater help in near future especially for shaping the rules and norms related to the Artificial Intelligence.

The advancement in the technology often introduces multiple complex legal complications. For example, the companies those have evolved and are also responsible for the Artificial Intelligence systems, are potentially using various copyrighted works for training their own models developed using the Artificial Intelligence or within their contents which are being generated by the Artificial Intelligence and all these practices are illegal as it is committing the infringement of the copyright. Now, the question relating to legal responsibility of those companies is still remaining un-identified, due to the lack of proper laws.

Here, except for the European Union and European nations that work on the rules of the Artificial Intelligence, India shows no sustained progress since creating their National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. The contemporary situation calls for immediate perpetration of laws which can efficiently handle the systems of Artificial Intelligence and its functional conditions.

Internet service providers must also work with the development of newer technologies to produce systems that can distinguish between acceptable and un-acceptable behaviours within a specific context. The tools of live Artificial Intelligence need to help the legal experts in performing their duties so that they can gain new technical capacities that would enhance the well beings of the societal entities.

Successful development of the Artificial Intelligence demands mortal-centered regulations which must not defend rights and shall also motivate progress. The advancement of the ultra-modern society requires law and technology to cover the moral values in all their stages. Such systems of the Artificial Intelligence in the legal sphere ameliorate justice systems through prophetic algorithms, as well as smart contract evaluation tools, to enhance both functional speed and availability in legal processes.

The Complexities of Section 498A of Indian Penal Code 1860: A Discrimination against Men

Sk Tanvir Nabi (Student of 6th Semester)

Marriage is one of the divine social institutions in the society. Although in last few decades, it has undergone monumental changes. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, is to protect women from cruelty and dowry harassment by husband and in-laws. This provision aimed to safeguard the rights and dignity of women. But in many instances, it has been alleged that women file false or exaggerated complaints during matrimonial disputes as a weapon rather than a shield.

Women are misusing this provision with specific reason such as prior relationship, adultery, domination, custody and fraudulent marriage.  Moreover, the gender-specific nature of section 498A violates the principle of equality before the law. It provides no remedy to men or their families who may suffer emotional or physical abuse for the convenience of the women. This misuse can be prevented by amendment of this provision, grievous punishment for false accusations, in-depth investigations, and vigilance of the Judiciary.

In the landmark case of Sushil Kumar Sharma v. Union of India, 2005, the Supreme Court observed that Section 498A has been increasingly used as a tool to harass husband & their families.

It is essential to protect women from genuine harassment during marital consistency but it is also important to prevent the law from being used as a tool for revenge or harassment. Thus reforming the process and implementation of 498A is crucial to achieve the gender neutral provision and fairness of justice.

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 – A major transformative shift in immigration process in India

Atanu Halder (Student of 6th Semester)

The Immigration and Foreigner’s Act, 2025 provides the unified legal structure to deal with immigration. This Act replaces the laws of the colonial era such as the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration and Foreigners, Act, 1939, and the Foreigners Act, 1946 along with the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000, to prevent the out-dated jargons.  By repealing the out-dated legislations, this Act addresses the regulatory structure with centralised executive discretion.

Key Features of the Act:

• The immigration will be supervised by the Commissioner of Bureau, appointed by central government, to discharge the functions like issuance of visas and regulation of entry into India and regulate.
• Passports along with visas are mandatory in case of foreigners to regulate entry or exit from India.
• The Foreigners must report to the Foreigners Registration office on their arrival.
• All the undocumented carriers shall be confiscated and fines upto 5 lakhs.
• The Act provides arrest without warrant by not below the rank of head constable.
• The Act provides for penalization for undocumented foreigners, upto 5 years imprisonment or 5 lakh rupees fine or both.
• Educational institution, hospitals shall provide information’s related to foreigners to the registration officer.

Loopholes of the Act:

• No legal distinction among refugees, statelessness, seekers. The Act lacks recognition of statelessness.
• Risk of prolonged adjudicatory procedure to prove citizenship as a burden of proof relies on the accused.
• Incorporation of vague terms like ‘threat to sovereignty’ or ‘risk of national security’.
• Limited judicial intervention.
• Solely depends upon executive discretion.

Suggestions:

• Incorporation of a clear definition of recognition of statelessness.
• The burden of proof shall lie on the State and the standard of evidence shall be in compliance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 to deal with admissibility or non-admissibility of the evidence.
• Incorporation of definite time frame within which the adjudicatory procedure shall be exhausted.
• Too much adjudicatory powers are concentrated on the Central Government which needs to be checked.