PM Modi summons telecom secretary over website takedowns, sources say

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office summoned the telecommunications secretary on Saturday to explain how officials ordered the takedown of more than 100 websites based on court orders that Reuters revealed were fake, two government sources said.

The intervention from Modi's office signals intensifying scrutiny after Reuters revealed on Wednesday that telecom officials directed internet providers to block 129 illegal betting websites based on fake High Court orders which were emailed to officials by people posing as lawyers.

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While online betting is illegal in India, the case has raised concerns that a lack of safeguards in India's content-takedown system could allow falsified court documents to be used to block legitimate websites.

The findings have triggered one criminal investigation by state police against unknown persons for forgery and cheating.

Modi's office summoned Telecom Secretary Amit Agrawal to appear and explain the lapse, cutting short Agrawal's trip to another state, said the two government officials with knowledge of the matter.

Agrawal is the most senior bureaucrat in the telecommunications ministry, which oversees everyone from big telecom operators to internet providers.

"The action taken by the Department of Telecommunications against betting accounts was carried out through the relevant field officers," said one of the people.

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Agrawal and his ministry did not respond to Reuters queries, and neither did Modi's office.

Court precedents generated using AI have caused concerns among judges the world over. India's Supreme Court in July set aside a tribunal's orders that relied on non-existent judgments, and a US judge recently disqualified lawyers over use of fabricated legal citations.

On Friday, Reuters reported that the telecoms ministry had initiated an internal investigation into the alleged fraud, while police have sought ministry records as part of a criminal investigation.

The two state court orders Reuters revealed were fake, based on comments from police and the court registry, contained fabricated court logos and seals, ​as well as a fake QR code.

They were for months available publicly on the Department of Telecommunications' website, along with correspondence that showed government officials ordering internet providers to remove the websites.

On Saturday, one of the fake court orders was still accessible on the government's website, while one had been removed.