A Comparative Analysis of Algorithmic Sentencing and the Right to a Reasoned Order and Due Process in India

Abstract

The inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into criminal sentencing, specifically through Risk Assessment Instruments (RAI) like COMPAS, threatens and challenges the constitutional principles of Due process and Right to a Reasoned Order. These tools that are proprietary trade secrets are constitutionally inadequate and violative of “Due process of law” under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution .This study provides a comparative analysis of the landmark US case State v. Loomis (2016), where the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the use of opaque algorithms provided they carry a "warning label" as a procedural safeguard regarding their potential bias and limitations. The court relied on narrow standards of procedural due process that is fundamentally incompatible with India’s broader doctrine of Substantive Due Process, laid down under Article 21 in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India.