New Delhi, November 14, 2026: Two purported orders attributed to the Rajasthan and Allahabad High Courts were found to be forged after they had been used as the basis for government directions to block a total of 129 betting-related websites, according to a Reuters investigation and subsequent legal reporting. The episode has prompted a police case in Uttar Pradesh and questions about how official website-blocking requests are authenticated.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued one blocking direction on July 21 covering 34 websites and another on September 2 covering 95 websites. Both directions were accompanied by documents presented as High Court orders. Reuters reported that checks with the courts found that neither purported order appeared in the relevant court records.
What did the court checks find?
The Rajasthan High Court’s registrar told Reuters that the document bearing the court’s name appeared to be fraudulent and did not exist on the court’s server. The purported Allahabad High Court order was dated August 14 and cited Writ-A No. 30480/2026. An internal check by the Allahabad High Court found that no such case had been registered and no order had been uploaded for that date. The private secretary to the judge named on the document also confirmed that no such order had been passed, according to the police complaint reviewed by legal publication Bar & Bench.
The purported Allahabad document carried the court’s logo and seal and included a QR code. Reuters reported that the code led to an unrelated webpage displaying the purported case number rather than an authenticated court record.
Police case registered after High Court complaint
The Allahabad High Court administration approached the police after its internal verification. Bar & Bench reported that the Chief Justice directed registration of a criminal case on November 3, following which an FIR was registered on November 6 against unknown persons on a complaint by a Joint Registrar of the High Court.
The case includes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating and forgery, including forgery of court records and use of forged documents as genuine, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act. Reuters reported on November 11 that no arrests had been made at that stage.
Government review and unanswered questions
In a follow-up report dated November 12, Reuters said police had asked the telecoms ministry for content-management records and digital logs, sending 24 questions to help establish how the documents were processed. Reuters also reported, citing an official with direct knowledge, that the ministry was reviewing its procedures and considering additional verification checks before acting on court orders. The official said the ministry planned to revoke the blocking directions based on the forged documents and remove related material from its website. The DoT did not respond to Reuters’ questions at the time of that report.
It remains unclear who created the documents or whether artificial intelligence was used. Reuters said it could not establish whether AI was involved. The fact that purported court orders were forged does not, by itself, determine the legal status of each website named in the blocking directions; that is a separate question from the authenticity of the documents used to request the blocks.
Why the case matters
Website-blocking directions can affect access to online services across India. The case highlights the importance of verifying judicial documents against official court records before government departments act on them. The police investigation and the DoT’s reported review are still developing, and no individual has been identified publicly as responsible for the alleged forgery.
Sources
- Reuters – investigation into 129 website blocks based on purported forged court orders, November 11, 2026
- Reuters – follow-up on police requests for DoT logs and ministry review, November 12, 2026
- Bar & Bench – report based on the Allahabad High Court complaint and FIR, November 11, 2026
- LiveLaw – legal report on the purported order and police case, November 11, 2026
Image note: The featured photograph shows the Supreme Court of India and is used only as a representative courthouse image. It does not depict the Rajasthan or Allahabad High Court buildings.
