ALGORITHMIC POLICING AND DUE PROCESS IN CYBERCRIME INVESTIGATIONS: A CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS UNDER ARTICLES 14, 19 AND 21 OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Abstract

The increasing reliance on artificial intelligence in cybercrime investigation has significantly altered the manner in which policing power is exercised in India. Law enforcement agencies now employ algorithmic tools for surveillance, pattern detection, suspect identification, and predictive assessment of digital behaviour. While these technologies promise efficiency and enhanced investigative capacity, they simultaneously raise serious constitutional concerns. This paper critically examines whether AI-driven cybercrime investigations are compatible with the guarantees of equality, freedom, and personal liberty enshrined under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India. It argues that algorithmic policing challenges foundational principles of due process by introducing opaque decision-making, automated suspicion, and data-driven profiling that risk diluting the traditional requirement of reason to believe in criminal investigations. Through a doctrinal analysis of constitutional jurisprudence, statutory provisions governing surveillance and digital evidence, and emerging scholarly discourse on algorithmic governance, the paper contends that the current deployment of AI in cyber policing operates in a constitutional grey zone. The study concludes that without explicit legislative regulation, enforceable standards of transparency and explainability, and meaningful human and judicial oversight, algorithmic policing may undermine procedural fairness and constitutional accountability rather than strengthen the rule of law in India.