Modi's office summons telecom secretary over use of fake court orders, officials say

New Delhi, Nov 14 (Reuters) - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office summoned the telecommunications secretary on Saturday to clarify how officials had ordered the removal of over 100 websites on the basis of court orders that were later revealed to be fictitious, according to two government sources. This action indicates growing scrutiny following Reuters' revelation on Wednesday that telecom officials had directed internet service providers to block 129 illegal betting websites based on phony High Court orders, which were forwarded to officials by individuals impersonating lawyers.

Although online betting is prohibited in India, the incident has raised questions about the absence of checks in India's content removal system that could potentially permit the use of falsified court documents to suppress legitimate websites. Investigations have been launched, including one criminal case against unidentified individuals for forgery and cheating.

Modi's office interrupted Telecom Secretary Amit Agrawal's journey to another state, as reported by two government officials familiar with the matter. Agrawal, the highest-ranking official in the telecommunications ministry, oversees various entities such as major telecom operators and internet providers. The Department of Telecommunications had implemented the measures against betting accounts through their respective field officers, one of the sources explained.

Agrawal and his ministry declined to comment on the matter to Reuters, as did Modi's office. Concerns have arisen regarding the use of AI-generated court precedents among judges worldwide. In July, India's Supreme Court overturned a tribunal's decision that was founded on nonexistent judgments. Additionally, a US judge recently dismissed lawyers for employing fabricated legal citations.

On Friday, Reuters reported that the telecoms ministry had launched an internal probe into the alleged fraud, while police were seeking records from the ministry as part of a criminal investigation. The two court orders that Reuters had disclosed as fake, as confirmed by police and the court registry, featured fabricated court seals, logos, and a counterfeit QR code.

These orders had been publicly accessible on the Department of Telecommunications' website for months, along with documentation showing government officials instructing internet providers to eliminate the websites. On Saturday, one of the fraudulent court orders was still visible on the government's website, while the other had been removed.