Delhi HC seeks Centre’s response on PIL seeking to ban Chinese AI Tool DeepSeek

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre’s response to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the operations of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek in India over alleged data privacy violations.

A division bench comprising chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Centre’s counsel to seek instructions and listed the matter for further hearing on 20 February.

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“AI is a dangerous tool in anybody’s hands, whether it is Chinese or American; doesn’t make a difference. It is not that the government is unaware of these things, they are very well aware,” Gedela remarked, acknowledging the broader risks posed by AI.

Allegations against DeepSeek

The petition, filed by Bhavna Sharma, raises concerns over DeepSeek, an AI chatbot developed by two Chinese firms, alleging that it operates in India without complying with the country’s data protection laws.

The plea contends that DeepSeek is freely accessible in India via mobile app stores, despite failing to meet key provisions of the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

It further alleges that DeepSeek’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy do not adequately safeguard Indian users' rights, lacking proper data security, user consent mechanisms, and grievance redressal processes.

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“The primary concern lies around the inappropriate and unlawful operations of DeepSeek… Its privacy policies fail to protect Indian citizens’ right to privacy and are non-compliant with key IT regulations,” the petition states. 

Mint has seen a copy of the petition.

The plea also highlights international regulatory actions against the chatbot, noting that Italy’s data protection authority, Garante, has banned DeepSeek, while Australia has prohibited its use on government devices. Authorities in Ireland, Belgium, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan, the US, and France are reportedly investigating the company over similar concerns.

Additionally, the plea refers to an internal directive from India’s finance ministry, advising government departments against using AI tools like DeepSeek and ChatGPT due to the risks they pose to the confidentiality of government data. 

Against this backdrop, the petitioner has urged the court to direct the Centre to block access to DeepSeek across all platforms, including apps and chat services, and prevent its use by government entities. The plea also seeks the removal of any existing instances of DeepSeek from government systems and devices.

The petition further requests the court to establish clear guidelines for the immediate blocking of AI tools that threaten India's sovereignty, data security, and public order.

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Emphasizing the urgency of the matter, the petition states: “The Indian judiciary, custodian of the rights of citizens, cannot be a mere spectator in this scenario, watching the rights of privacy of Indian citizens being curtailed, while waiting for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, to be enacted.”

DeepSeek controversy

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup founded by Liang Wenfeng in December 2023, rapidly gained prominence following the launch of its DeepSeek R1 model in January 2025. 

Developed at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s GPT-4, the model is considered a strong competitor to AI systems like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in mathematics and coding. However, its rise has been accompanied by privacy and national security concerns.

In India, the controversy surrounding DeepSeek deepened when a user shared a conversation with the chatbot, which refused to acknowledge Arunachal Pradesh as part of India, instead offering evasive responses. This incident fuelled concerns over potential geopolitical biases in favor of the Chinese government. 

Also read | OpenAI discussing localization of ChatGPT India data

Meanwhile, OpenAI, DeepSeek’s American competitor, is also facing legal scrutiny in India, with the Delhi High Court set to hear a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against it by news agencies and publishers in March.