CJI Surya Kant to launch AI chatbot ‘ABHAY’ for notice verification

Chief Justice Surya Kant will deliver the D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture on cybercrime challenges, highlighting policing and judicial roles. He will also launch ‘ABHAY’, an AI chatbot by the Central Bureau of Investigation to verify notices

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant will deliver the 22nd D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture at the Bharat Mandapam here on Monday, with a focus on the growing challenges of cybercrime and the evolving role of police and the judiciary in addressing them.

The lecture, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), will centre on the theme — “Challenges of Cyber Crime: Role for Police and Judiciary” — reflecting the increasing intersection of technology, crime, and justice delivery systems.

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On the occasion, CJI Surya Kant will also launch an AI-powered notice verification chatbot, ‘ABHAY’, designed to enable citizens to verify the authenticity of notices purportedly issued by the CBI.

The initiative comes amid a rise in so-called “digital arrest” frauds and is expected to provide a crucial safeguard against impersonation and cyber-enabled deception.

As many as 24 Medals for Meritorious Service will also be presented during the event, recognising distinguished contributions by CBI personnel.

The CBI organises the annual lecture series in honour of its founder Director, Dharamnath Prasad Kohli, whose leadership laid the institutional foundation of the agency. Established by a Union government resolution dated April 1, 1963, the CBI was mandated to investigate cases of bribery and corruption, violations of central fiscal laws, and other serious crimes, evolving over the decades into India’s premier investigative body.

Kohli, who led the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) before becoming the first Director of the CBI, is credited with strengthening investigative processes and institutional integrity.

While delivering the 20th D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture on the CBI’s Raising Day in 2024, then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud had stressed the need for adequate safeguards to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. He had observed that AI systems are not free from bias and may, due to skewed data, lead to profiling of marginalised communities, potentially infringing privacy rights and resulting in disproportionate targeting.

At the same time, then CJI Chandrachud had highlighted the transformative potential of AI in law enforcement, remarking that agencies such as the CBI can leverage algorithms to analyse vast volumes of data, identify patterns, and generate actionable intelligence with greater efficiency, including in complex cases such as human trafficking.