India audits web takedowns after forged court orders slipped through

India has opened an inquiry into how telecom officials blocked 129 illegal betting websites using forged court orders, while police pursue a criminal investigation into the paperwork behind the takedowns, officials said Thursday. Reuters first reported the forgeries on Wednesday.

A telecoms ministry arm issued the blocking directives this year after receiving what appeared to be orders from the Rajasthan and Allahabad high courts. Reuters found the documents were forged and emailed to officials by alleged fraudsters posing as lawyers.

The ministry's inquiry will review its procedures and weigh extra checks before officials act on court orders seeking takedowns. A government official with direct knowledge of the matter called the lapse serious, saying it raised the risk that legitimate sites could be blocked the same way.

The official, speaking anonymously, said the ministry is working to identify who was behind the email addresses used to send the forged orders. The ministry also plans to revoke the blocking directives issued on the basis of the fakes and pull related documents from its website — though as of Thursday, the correspondence and copies of the forged orders were still online. The telecoms ministry did not respond to queries.

Police launched a criminal investigation after the Allahabad High Court checked one of the purported orders bearing its name and found the court had not issued it, according to police documents reviewed by Reuters. The document carried a fabricated court logo and seal, plus a fake QR code.

Ghanshyam Yadav, a cybercrime official in Uttar Pradesh, said police have asked the ministry for details of its content management system and digital logs to trace how it processed the forged orders and who sent them. He said police sent 24 questions, and the ministry's response will shape the investigation's next steps. The case lands amid wider alarm over fake and AI-generated legal material: India's Supreme Court in July struck down a tribunal ruling built on non-existent judgments, and a US judge in June disqualified lawyers over fabricated citations. Opposition politician Saket Gokhale weighed in on X, asking why the ministry never verified the order and calling it beyond scary, as activists and politicians push for tougher checks before sites go dark.