Delhi HC declines early hearing on plea to block Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek

A bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela ruled that the public interest litigation (PIL) did not warrant urgent consideration.

When the petitioner’s counsel argued that the issue was sensitive, the court remarked that individuals could choose not to use the platform if they found it harmful.

“These kinds of platforms have been available in India for a long time. Not only DeepSeek, but several such platforms exist. If you think it’s harmful, don’t use it. There is no basis for an early hearing,” the bench observed.

Rejecting the application, the court stated that no compelling grounds had been made for expediting the matter.

It further noted that while the Internet provided access to various platforms globally, individuals were not obliged to use them.

Petition cites cybersecurity concerns

The petition, filed by lawyer Bhavna Sharma, seeks to protect citizens' personal data and safeguard government systems from cyber threats and data breaches. The plea argues that the confidentiality of sensitive information is at risk.

According to the petition, within a month of DeepSeek’s launch on app stores, multiple vulnerabilities were detected, leading to a large-scale leak of sensitive personal data online, including chat histories, back-end data, and log streams.

Previously, the court had granted time to the Centre’s counsel to seek instructions on the matter.

On Tuesday, the petitioner’s counsel requested the hearing be moved up from April 16, citing that the case was previously not heard due to time constraints.

However, the court refused the request, maintaining that there was no urgency in the matter.