Punjab, Haryana HC Issues Notice To Varsity On LLM Student's Plea Over Use Of AI In Exam

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Tuesday, issued a notice to O.P. Jindal University in response to a petition filed by an LLM student challenging the university’s decision to penalise him for allegedly using AI in his exam submission.

Justice Jasgurpreet Singh directed the Jindal Global Law School to file a response to the plea of Kaustubh Shakkarwar, who has sought to have the university's decision quashed. The hearing is scheduled for November 14.

University failed to provide evidence?

Shakkarwar contends that the university failed to provide any evidence supporting its claim that his exam submission for the subject *Law and Justice in the Globalising World* was "88 percent AI-generated." He was marked as "failed" on June 11 following his submission for the first-term examinations on May 18.

The petitioner further claims that he was informed the university’s unfair means committee would address his grievance. He submitted a memo of arguments and requested relevant documents, but did not receive any response. Shakkarwar also asked the university to provide a specific rule prohibiting the use of AI during examinations but was again met with no reply.

"Forced by the conduct of the university and having no other efficacious appellate remedy, the petitioner beseeches the quashing of the decision against him by the university," his petition states.

Invoked the Copyright Act

Additionally, Shakkarwar invoked the Copyright Act, asserting that "Section 2(d)(vi) of the Copyright Act, 1957, makes it amply clear that, arguendo (for the sake of argument), if the petitioner even did use AI, the copyright of the artistic work would lie with the petitioner, and thus the allegation of violation of copyright fails."

Shakkarwar, an engineer-turned-lawyer, practices intellectual property law before various forums and serves as a junior standing counsel for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at the Delhi High Court.