Fake court orders used to block 129 betting websites in India, police probe launched
Reuters has found that India's government ordered internet providers to block 129 betting websites this year based on two state high court orders that were fake. The findings have triggered a police investigation in Uttar Pradesh, with the Allahabad High Court filing a complaint on 6 Nov 2026. The f
BENGALURU, Nov 11 — India's government ordered internet providers to block 129 illegal betting websites this year based on two state high court orders that Reuters has found were fake, findings that have triggered at least one police investigation.
The forgeries are the latest sign that fake orders are slipping past India's official content removal mechanism, considered one of the world's strictest, and could impact the online presence of any organisation operating in the country.
India's Department of Telecommunications issued two website blocking directions on 21 July and 2 September. Both directives came attached with emailed copies of purported court orders from the High Courts of western Rajasthan and northern Uttar Pradesh states ordering the removal of dozens of websites.
A Reuters review found neither court order appears in the courts' online registration records. After questions from the news agency, the Rajasthan High Court's registrar said in an email that the order bearing its name "appears to be fraudulent" and did not exist on its server. The court did not elaborate.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court found its order was fake and filed a police complaint on 6 November, prompted by Reuters' findings, according to police case documents, which also showed an investigation against unknown persons has been initiated for alleged forgery and cheating. "It is fake. It is not a genuine order from High Court of Allahabad," Ghanshyam Yadav, a senior state cybercrime official told Reuters by telephone. He said no arrests had been made.
Between them, the two orders affected 129 websites featuring gambling, which is illegal under Indian law. It was not clear how the fake orders were generated and if AI was used. The government's telecoms department, which issued the two takedown directives and sent the court orders to internet providers, did not respond to Reuters queries.
Amid growing concerns of fake orders, India's Supreme Court justices last year said such fabrication "bearing forged signatures of Judges strikes at the very foundation of public trust" and "such grave criminal acts cannot be treated as ordinary or routine offences."
