Nagaland University Researchers from the Law Department have proposed a pioneering ‘Digital Rehabilitation Law’ — a future-oriented legal framework that integrates Artificial Intelligence, telemedicine and mobile health technologies into India’s drug addiction recovery system.

The study offers one of the earliest doctrinal analyses of how India’s legal environment can accommodate technology-driven rehabilitation models. It examines India’s growing drug dependency crisis and argues that traditional rehabilitation systems have remained inaccessible, understaffed and stigmatized for far too long. The researchers highlight an urgent need to strengthen rehabilitation as a central pillar of national public health and drug policy.

The Research was undertaken by Dr. Rumi Dhar and Ms. Tania Anya from the Department of Law, Nagaland University. The findings were published in KDU Law Journal (https://fol.kdu.ac.lk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Volume-5-Issue-2.pdf), a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Faculty of Law, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka. It offers scholarly research on contemporary legal issues and is internationally indexed in HeinOnline.

A Video of Dr. Rumi Dhar explaining the key findings can be viewed and downloaded from – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X09U-3t_gRw_1ijYUOl0SCEgxcsk0YCD/view

Highlighting the need for academic institutions of excellence to develop modern solutions for social issues, Prof. Jagadish K Patnaik, Vice Chancellor, Nagaland University, said, “I congratulate our researchers for proposing the innovative concept of a Digital Rehabilitation Law, which explores how ethical AI integration can strengthen India’s drug addiction recovery ecosystem. This work reflects Nagaland University’s commitment to socially relevant research that upholds patient rights, expands access to care, and supports evidence-based policymaking. I am confident that such forward-looking scholarship will contribute meaningfully to national dialogues on public health and technological governance”

The study evaluates the compatibility of existing statutes, including Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023), Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (2020) and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985), with emerging digital rehabilitation tools. It identifies critical gaps related to privacy, informed consent, algorithmic transparency, and accountability, especially as AI-driven relapse prediction models and virtual counselling platforms become more prevalent.

Elaborating on the Study, Dr. Rumi Dhar, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Nagaland University, said, “This study is both unique and urgently relevant. Our proposed legislative model of a ‘Digital Rehabilitation Law’ will harmonize India’s current legal provisions to support safe, ethical and tech-enabled addiction treatment. The research underscores that while technology can significantly improve access to rehabilitation, particularly for rural and underserved communities, robust legal safeguards must protect patient rights and dignity.”

Further, Ms. Tania Anya, Research Scholar, Department of Law, Nagaland University, said, “Our key recommendations include establishing a National Digital Rehabilitation Regulatory Authority, amending the NDPS Act to formally recognise digital rehabilitation pathways, launching pilot programs for AI- and telemedicine-based interventions and implementing nationwide training to improve digital literacy among healthcare providers and patients.”

The researchers emphasize that the study is doctrinal, offering legal and policy insights rather than clinical findings, and advocate for a collaborative, stigma-reducing approach involving lawmakers, technologists, and medical professionals.

The study highlighted the transformative potential of mobile health tools to strengthen rehabilitation outcomes through every day, user-friendly technologies. Examples such as Australia’s Daybreak app—shown to cut alcohol consumption by half — and peer-support platforms like Sober Grid prove that app-based interventions can improve motivation, community connection, and long-term recovery adherence.

Emerging global models referenced in the study illustrate how India could rapidly operationalize digital rehabilitation through scalable, real-world applications. AI-powered relapse prediction tools such as those used in the United States and European Union demonstrate how continuous physiological and behavioural monitoring can alert clinicians before a relapse occurs, enabling timely interventions and save lives.

Telemedicine frameworks like Project ECHO and the Vermont hub-and-spoke model show how digitally linked specialists can support local healthcare workers, ensuring that even remote communities receive consistent, clinically supervised treatment. In India, integrating similar architectures into national health platforms such as e-Sanjeevani could transform access to addiction care across underserved regions