Delhi High Court seeks Centre’s plan to address concerns over AI chatbot DeepSeek

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned the Central government on how it intends to address growing concerns surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela posed the query to Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ishkaran Bhandari, during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Bhavna Sharma.

According to a Bar and Bench report, the Court observed that issues related to DeepSeek’s potential impact on privacy, data security and national sovereignty should be addressed proactively.

“You have to take instructions. There is no doubt that this is an issue which needs to be tackled at the initial stage as well. You take instructions. How is the ministry going to tackle this? Please keep it ready,” the Bench remarked.

The judges granted Bhandari additional time to seek instructions from the concerned ministry and directed that the case be listed along with other matters of a similar nature at the next hearing.

The PIL filed by Sharma argues that platforms such as DeepSeek pose risks to the privacy and security of Indian citizens, while being detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of the country. She has urged the Court to issue directions for the government to frame clear guidelines to block access to such AI tools.

In February 2025, the High Court had similarly asked the Centre to obtain instructions on the matter, signalling continued judicial scrutiny over the regulation of foreign AI technologies operating within India’s digital ecosystem.