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The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, declined to grant an expedited hearing on a petition seeking the complete prohibition of access to DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Chinese entities, within India.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela determined that the public interest litigation (PIL) lacked sufficient urgency to warrant priority scheduling.
In response to the petitioner’s counsel emphasizing the sensitivity of the matter, the court advised against the use of the platform if it was indeed perceived as harmful.
The bench remarked, “Such platforms have been available in India for an extended period. DeepSeek is not singular in its presence; numerous similar platforms exist. If it is harmful, one need not engage with it. There is no justification for an expedited hearing.”
Furthermore, the court ruled, “No compelling grounds for an early hearing have been established. The application stands rejected.” The bench also observed that while a wide array of digital resources are accessible globally via the internet, individual users are not obligated to engage with all available content.
The petitioner’s counsel had urged the court to reschedule the hearing from its initially assigned date of April 16 to an earlier one, citing the previous adjournment due to time constraints. However, the request was not accommodated.
Previously, the court had accorded the Centre’s counsel additional time to obtain official instructions regarding the matter.
The petitioner, Bhavna Sharma, a practicing advocate, contended that the plea was filed with the objective of safeguarding citizens’ personal data, as well as sensitive governmental information, from cyber threats and unauthorized breaches.
The petition underscored the necessity of maintaining confidentiality and fortifying cybersecurity measures.
According to the plea, within a month of DeepSeek’s availability on digital distribution platforms, multiple security vulnerabilities were identified. These deficiencies purportedly led to widespread exposure of sensitive personal information, including chat histories, back-end data, and log streams, exacerbating concerns over data protection and privacy breaches.
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