NEW DELHI — Cyber fraudsters duped the Department of Telecommunications into shutting down 129 websites by fabricating judicial orders from two state high courts.
The compliance was swift. Unverified digital papers bypassed scrutiny inside the telecom ministry, triggering immediate nationwide takedown notices to Internet Service Providers. Yet neither decree ever passed before a judge. Official registries at the Rajasthan and Allahabad High Courts confirm the underlying records do not exist.
Now, state investigators are pursuing the paper trail.
The breach began on a Sunday night. At 8:59 pm on July 19, an email landed in the Department of Telecommunications inbox, carrying an attached judicial order purportedly stamped by the Rajasthan High Court registry. It carried the signature of "Aryan Chaudhary," identified on paper as an advocate-on-record.
The document demanded total compliance within 24 hours. To manufacture legal muscle, the perpetrators invoked national security provisions under India's Information Technology Act. Regulators folded. Two days later, on July 21, the government issued formal instructions directing Internet Service Providers to restrict 34 betting domains listed in the fake directive.
The Rajasthan High Court registry detected the fraud after external inquiries exposed discrepancies in the docket numbers.
The document appears to be fraudulent.
Office of the Registrar, Rajasthan High Court
A second, more sophisticated strike targeted the Allahabad High Court on August 22. Fraudsters emailed an order dated August 14 bearing the court’s official insignia, a fabricated seal, and the forged signature of "Justice Garima Prashad." The email came from an individual identifying himself as advocate Kartikey Pandey.
The perpetrators embedded a digital QR code directly onto the face of the document. But scanning it led to an unrelated landing page displaying a single fabricated case file: "Writ -- A 30480/2026." Telecom authorities failed to verify the registry numbers and pushed out a second censorship directive on September 2, blacklisting another 95 domains.
In total, federal authorities shuttered 129 web properties across 43 days without a single authentic court ruling.
The Allahabad High Court administration intervened after discovering that telecom regulators had blocked 95 commercial web portals on its purported authority. The Chief Justice ordered immediate criminal action.
Following that mandate, a High Court Joint Registrar lodged a formal complaint with the Uttar Pradesh Police, prompting investigators to register a First Information Report against unidentified perpetrators.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Accused | Unidentified cyber operators |
| Complainant | Joint Registrar, Allahabad High Court |
| Penal Code Invoked | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) |
| Sections Registered | 318(2), 336(2), 336(3), 337, 338, 340(2) |
| Total Domains Blocked | 129 websites (34 betting sites, 95 commercial portals) |
| Investigating Agency | Uttar Pradesh Police |
The FIR invokes severe forgery and fraud provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Detectives are reviewing internet protocol logs and routing data linked to the July 19 and August 22 email transmissions.
Investigators are now tracking financial transactions connected to the blocked domains to determine whether rival syndicates orchestrated the fabrications to strangle competitors. Uttar Pradesh Police confirmed forensic teams are analyzing server headers, with an initial investigative report due before the court registry later this month.