New Delhi: Coming down heavily on a plea that appeared to have been drafted using artificial intelligence (AI), a Delhi court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on a litigant, observing that the poorly written complaint led to wastage of valuable judicial time.The petitioner, Punam Pandey, approached the Rouse Avenue Court seeking directions for registration of an FIR under Section 156(3) of the CrPC. She alleged that Syed Shahnawaz Hussain had issued death threats to her and her family.However, during the hearing, the court flagged serious concerns over the quality of the petition. Magistrate Neha Mittal noted that the complaint was riddled with grammatical errors and, more significantly, contained several meaningless and incoherent phrases that made it difficult to comprehend the allegations.While dismissing the application, the court highlighted a broader concern, observing: “Despite nipping such complaints in the bud, litigants filing these frivolous complaints are definitely successful in wasting judicial time, if not more.”Magistrate Mittal said that meaningless words were inserted, forcing the court to spend time attempting to decipher the content.To illustrate the problem, the court reproduced portions of the complaint, noting: “that is why the me could not take legal action against the OCT accused because the me is Lady. a LATTES simple Framner……….The mean Lebaut was in depression………..The complaint EO SHO PS Mehrauli, New Delhi BHE BE Action was taken till me.”Calling out the lack of clarity, the court observed, “These lines certainly do not make any sense and fail to convey anything else except the fact that drafting might have been done with more technical intervention and less of human mind contribution.”Suspecting “more technical intervention and less of human mind contribution”, the court cautioned against such usage, noting that the Supreme Court and various high courts have also “deprecated” such practices.Observing that courts cannot be left powerless in such situations, the court deemed it fit to impose a fine of Rs 20,000 on the litigant for the loss of “judicial time”.
