Meta, WhatsApp, Google, Telegram, X and LinkedIn must remove hundreds of accounts impersonating Kotak entities and disclose the operators’ identity details in an alleged investment fraud case.
The Delhi High Court has ordered major technology platforms to take down hundreds of fake accounts and channels that allegedly impersonated Kotak Mahindra Bank and Kotak Securities in a sprawling online fraud operation, while also directing them to identify the people behind the profiles and share those details with the lender.
Justice Vikas Mahajan issued the interim order on 14 October in a case brought by Kotak Mahindra Bank and Kotak Securities against unknown defendants. According to the order, the court found the companies had established a prima facie case and that withholding urgent relief could cause serious and irreparable damage to the bank and to retail investors who may have been drawn into the schemes. LiveLaw Biz reported that the court treated the matter as an ex parte injunction, meaning it moved ahead without hearing the unidentified defendants first.
The platforms covered by the order include Meta Platforms, WhatsApp, Google, Telegram, X and LinkedIn. The court directed them to remove infringing accounts and to disclose KYC details, contact information, photographs and identity documents linked to the operators. It also restrained the misuse of the “KOTAK”, “KOTAK BANK” and “KOTAK SECURITIES” names and logos, and barred anyone from posing as the bank’s executives, employees or authorised representatives. The Bar Bulletin said the court also told the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications to issue blocking notices to internet and telecom service providers for the listed URLs.
The case centres on allegations that fraudsters used WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, Facebook pages, YouTube accounts and LinkedIn profiles to promote bogus investment offers with promises of assured high returns. In submissions recorded in the order, Kotak said it had received more than 100 customer complaints, with reported losses ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh apiece. Legal outlets reporting on the ruling said the court viewed the impersonation campaign as a trademark infringement matter as well as a consumer-protection issue, reflecting the wider trend of Indian courts stepping in more aggressively against fake websites, social media accounts and deepfake-style misuse of brands and identities.
The defendants have been given four weeks to reply, and the matter is scheduled before the Joint Registrar on 7 December 2026 before returning to court on 8 February 2027. Similar recent orders in India have targeted fake online trading schemes and unauthorised use of public figures’ identities, suggesting that courts are increasingly willing to use urgent blocking and disclosure remedies where digital impersonation is being used to mislead users and move money quickly.
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