REGULATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN INDIA: CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES TO PRIVACY, EQUALITY, AND DUE PROCESS
AUTHOR – BALAMURUGAN S* & NIKITHA SREE**
* STUDENT AT VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)
** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT SCHOOL OF LAW, VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)
BEST CITATION – BALAMURUGAN S & NIKITHA SREE, REGULATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN INDIA: CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES TO PRIVACY, EQUALITY, AND DUE PROCESS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (7) OF 2026, PG. 164-170, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I718
ABSTRACT
The rapid proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies across governance, criminal justice, healthcare, and financial services has precipitated a constitutional crisis in India that existing legal frameworks are ill-equipped to resolve. AI systems — through algorithmic decision-making, predictive policing, biometric surveillance, and automated data profiling — directly impinge upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India. This article undertakes a systematic doctrinal and comparative legal analysis of the constitutional dimensions of AI regulation, focusing on the right to privacy under Article 21, the right to equality under Articles 14 and 15, and the right to due process under Article 21. The study critically evaluates the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDPA) and existing policy instruments against the proportionality framework established in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017), identifies five structural constitutional lacunae in the current regulatory architecture, and proposes a rights-centred Constitutional AI Framework Act for India. The research argues that meaningful AI regulation must satisfy the fourfold test of legality, legitimate aim, necessity, and proportionality as enunciated in Puttaswamy, and must be institutionalised through an independent Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Authority of India (AIRAI).
Keywords: artificial intelligence regulation, constitutional law, right to privacy, algorithmic discrimination, due process, Puttaswamy, DPDPA 2023, facial recognition, India