Algorithmic Discrimination and Constitutional Equality: Reconstructing Human Rights Protection in the AI Era

Author(s)	Vikram Meghwal, Niharika Kumari
Country	India
Abstract	Automated decision systems now sit inside credit approval, welfare targeting, recruitment and policing, yet Indian equality jurisprudence was built for human officials and identifiable acts of the State. This article asks whether Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution, read with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, can carry the weight of algorithmic discrimination, and what a reconstructed framework would require. It pairs doctrinal analysis with a structured survey of 150 advocates, academics, research scholars and government or technology professionals. Awareness of algorithmic bias was high (82 per cent) but differed significantly across occupational groups. Respondents rejected the proposition that existing data-protection law is adequate (65 per cent disagreed) and strongly backed mandatory impact assessment (87 per cent) and a statutory right to explanation (75 per cent). The article proposes a four-part framework: a disparate-impact standard anchored in the non-arbitrariness limb of Article 14, horizontal duties on private deployers, procedural transparency rights, and an independent audit mechanism.
Keywords	algorithmic discrimination; Article 14; non-arbitrariness; automated decision-making; human rights; artificial intelligence; India
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 10, October 2026
Published On	2026-10-21

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