Delhi HC refuses urgent hearing on PIL to ban DeepSeek, cites no compulsion to use platform
Feb 25, 2025
New Delhi [India], February 25 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to prepone or an urgent hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to block DeepSeek in India.
The bench led by the Chief Justice of Delhi observed that users have the option to refrain from using the Chinese AI platform if it poses a threat stating that if it is so harmful, you are not compelled to use it. There is no basis for requesting an urgent hearing, said the court.
The court was hearing an application moved by the petitioner. On February 12, the Court had asked the counsel representing the Union government to seek instructions in the matter. It was listed again on February 20 but could not be taken up due to a lack of time, so the next date given was April 16.
Earlier, the court acknowledged the submissions made by the counsel, emphasizing that the matter requires careful consideration.
The court further observed that artificial intelligence could be a dangerous tool in anyone's hands, whether Chinese or American.
The petition was filed in the Delhi High Court with the aim to block access to 'DeepSeek,' an artificial intelligence chatbot. The petition claims that within a month of its launch, several vulnerabilities were discovered in DeepSeek, leading to the leak of over one million pieces of sensitive personal data online.
This leaked information reportedly includes a significant amount of chat history. The plea further alleges that DeepSeek, developed by Chinese entities, is involved in unlawful operations.
The plea moved by Bhavna Sharma, a practising Advocate through plea claims that Several countries have raised concerns about DeepSeek's privacy and security practices. As a result, Italy's Data Protection Authority, 'Garante,' has banned DeepSeek for violating privacy laws.
The Australian government has also prohibited its use on all government devices due to security risks. Similarly, data regulators in Ireland, Belgium, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan, the USA, and France are investigating DeepSeek's operations, the plea stated.
Additionally, India's Ministry of Finance has issued an internal directive to government departments, advising them against using AI tools like DeepSeek and ChatGPT on office devices due to potential risks to the confidentiality of government data and documents, plea read.
