Delhi High Court flags use of ‘hallucinated’, AI-generated rulings, calls for strict action

3 min readNew DelhiJul 29, 2026 07:03 PM IST The high court found that the CIT (A) order contained 6 non-existing citations. (Image generated using AI)Observing that the practice of citing non-existing or hallucinated citations is increasing day by day, the Delhi High Court recently set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) after finding that it relied on six judicial precedents that did not exist. The bench clarified that an adjudicating authority is free to base its conclusions on its own reasoning and interpretation of the law and need not necessarily support every conclusion with judicial precedent. However, it added that an order founded on incorrect law cannot be sustained. “We have experienced that the practice of citing non-existing or hallucinated citat