ABSTRACT
AI systems have reached a point where they now operate in all six areas of government which include public management and police work and social services and court systems. Algorithmic systems deliver efficiency and objective results which can be scaled yet their implementation creates major dangers that impact constitutional principles which include equality and transparency and accountability and due process. The Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Accountability Bill 2025 which India proposes establishes the first complete law for managing AI systems by using ethical principles and rights-based standards as its governing framework. This article evaluates the Bill through constitutional analysis which checks its compliance with the Constitution of India by studying Articles 14, 19 and 21 rights. The Bill needs to demonstrate whether it achieves its goals of dealing with algorithmic bias and lack of transparency and use of delegated decision-making authority and automated governance accountability issues. The Bill represents progress toward responsible AI governance yet existing constitutional and institutional deficiencies should be addressed through better protection measures which will maintain democratic accountability during the era of algorithmic governance.
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, Algorithmic Governance, Constitutional Law, Ethics and Accountability, Article 14, Due Process, Digital State
INTRODUCTION
The governance structure of contemporary states is experiencing fundamental changes because Artificial Intelligence systems are being used to make decisions about important matters. Government operations now depend on AI systems which include predictive policing and facial recognition technology and automatic welfare distribution systems and risk assessment tools. Public authorities in India have started using algorithmic systems which have created essential issues about how to ensure fairness and transparency and maintain constitutional responsibility.
The proposed Artificial Intelligence (Ethics and Accountability) Bill 2025 aims to create a legal framework that will govern artificial intelligence system development and implementation and monitoring activities within India. The Bill establishes a framework which protects both innovation and ethical practice because it prevents technological progress from violating essential human rights. The ethical framework needs to become a constitutional requirement because algorithmic systems increasingly determine essential life and liberty and employment decisions.
The article analyzes the Bill through constitutional examination to reveal how algorithmic governance affects equality rights and freedom rights and due process rights in accordance with Indian Constitution provisions.
CONCEPT OF ALGORITHMIC GOVERNANCE AND THE NEED FOR REGULATION
Algorithmic governance describes how governmental organizations use automated systems and AI tools to handle administrative tasks and make regulatory decisions. The systems bring efficiency benefits for operations, but they create nontransparent business processes because their algorithmic systems remain unknown to those who are impacted by their operations.
India lacks a complete statutory framework that regulates artificial intelligence technology which results in disconnected regulations through executive orders and policies that apply to individual sectors. The absence of regulatory frameworks creates conditions which allow algorithms to operate without regard for their potential consequences especially in criminal justice and social welfare and surveillance systems. The AI Bill 2025 establishes rules about transparency and accountability and human control and ethical standards to establish a regulatory framework which currently does not exist.
ARTICLE 14 AND ALGORITHMIC EQUALITY
The Constitution establishes Article 14 as a law which provides equal treatment for all people in legal matters. Algorithmic systems, however, are susceptible to embedded biases which result from training data that contains imbalances and from incorrect assumptions and from using discriminatory proxies. The State’s use of these biases leads to indirect discrimination which violates the fundamental principle of equality that should exist between different groups of people. The AI Bill 2025 establishes regulations that safeguard against algorithmic bias while requiring high-risk AI systems to undergo fairness evaluations and bias assessments. The Bill introduces an important regulatory improvement, but it primarily depends on two main enforcement mechanisms which are self-regulation and post-deployment audits. The requirement for enforcement mechanisms together with effective remedies for people who suffer harm from the situation raises constitutional issues. The lack of established standards for liability combined with the absence of independent monitoring will result in Article 14 equality rights remaining unfulfilled in systems that operate through algorithms.
ARTICLE 21, DUE PROCESS AND AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING
The Constitution’s Article 21 establishes the right to life and personal liberty which extends to citizens through their right to dignity and privacy and fair legal procedures. State actions which impact these rights require both due process and reasonableness standards to be fulfilled. The use of automated decision systems creates specific challenges which disrupt procedural fairness. Automated systems function as “black boxes” which prevent people from understanding how their decisions get made. The AI Bill of 2025 aims to solve this complex issue through its implementation of requirements which require for human decision makers to be involved in crucial choices. The Bill does not create a new right which people can use to demand explanations about their legal rights. The absence of this right makes it challenging for affected parties to contest algorithmic decisions which leads to decreased access for them to legal protection and procedural rights established in Article 21.
DELEGATION OF STATE POWER AND CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
The constitutional issue which most urgently needs attention from automated systems to which the State has transferred authority. The AI Bill 2025 establishes joint responsibility for AI system accountability among developers and deployers and users of the technology. The framework acknowledges that AI governance requires multiple parties to participate yet it fails to establish which constitutional duties the State must fulfill. Indian constitutional law requires the State to accept responsibility for its essential government duties because it cannot delegate these functions to outside organizations. The democracy protection which this principle offers the public requires complete maintenance because any reduction of this principle will create trust issues with the public.
CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE AI BILL, 2025
The Artificial Intelligence (Ethics and Accountability) Bill 2025 establishes an ambitious framework for rights-based AI regulation which demonstrates its intention to govern artificial intelligence systems. The system demonstrates full compliance with international standards through its combination of ethical principles and risk-based classification and oversight procedures. The Bill contains various constitutional issues which impede its function as a legislative instrument according to constitutional law.
The judicial system lacks sufficient tools to stop constitutional violations which exist as a permanent issue between the two countries because the Bill depends on soft-law methods and internal evaluations. The Bill fails to protect individuals who suffer algorithmic damage because it lacks an effective mechanism to handle complaints. The Bill does not adequately address the problem of algorithmic opacity in State decision-making, particularly in coercive or punitive contexts.
The Bill needs statutory protection and judicial control to work as a constitutional framework because it currently functions as an ethical checklist.
CONCLUSION
The introduction of algorithmic governance represents a critical turning point which shapes the development of the Indian constitutional State. Artificial Intelligence provides organizations with new ways to achieve greater operational efficiency but it also creates obstacles that undermine essential principles which protect equality and freedom and ensure transparent governance. The Artificial Intelligence (Ethics and Accountability) Bill 2025 represents an important regulatory advancement for the disruptive technology yet its effectiveness will depend on its ability to pass constitutional tests.
The AI empowerment tool needs to transform into an inclusive instrument when regulators move from ethical goals toward establishing binding constitutional protection mechanisms. Democratic governance requires three essential elements which include enhanced transparency, the recognition of procedural rights, and the confirmation of State responsibility. India needs to solve its technology development problem through constitutional morality.
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WRITTEN BY: KRISHNA KOUSHIK
