Income tax tribunal recalls an order that cited four judgments which do not exist
What happened
In December 2024 the Bengaluru bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled for the tax department in Buckeye Trust v PCIT, a dispute over the transfer of a partnership interest to a trust, reported to be worth ₹669 crore. The order relied on three Supreme Court judgments and one Madras High Court judgment that were later found not to exist.
Press reports said the citations had been generated by ChatGPT, which representatives of the tax department were reported to have used to prepare their case.
- December 2024
- Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Courts, tribunals and policing
- Language model or chatbotChatGPT, according to press reports that the tax department’s representatives had used it. The tribunal itself did not say so.
- Failed or made an error
- Human or fundamental rights
- The taxpayer in the case, a trust in a dispute reported to be worth ₹669 crore
- Independent reporting
- Added 01.10.2026
What followed
The tribunal recalled the order about a week later, and the case was listed to be heard again.
That ChatGPT was the source rests on press reports, not on anything the tribunal has said.
Sources
- Bengaluru Tax Tribunal Withdraws Order Based on Non-Existent Case Law Cited by ChatGPT
Law Trend,
- 10 cases that show Indian courts have an AI hallucination problem
MediaNama,
Something wrong or missing?
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