Police to pull the plug on fake Bombay high court website

The Mumbai police have swung into action to pull down an internet site operating under the guise of the Bombay high court webpage.

The site, www.bombayhighcourt.com, even has bars such as “Case status information system,” “Aurangabad bench,” and “Bombay high court NIC display board”.

Click on any one, and the page is routed to other websites related to matrimony, job vacancies, social networking, online sale/purchase among others.

The registrar general of the Bombay high court, SB Shukre, said, “We have informed the Mumbai police commissioner about the website, and requested him to act as per law.”

When asked whether there were any previous such instances where the high court website had been cloned, Shukre said, “I am not aware of it.”

The matter came to light on Thursday when counsel Venkatesh Dhond mentioned it in court to chief justice Mohit Shah.

Dhond said, “A day before, while appearing in another court, I came to know about this website. Thus I mentioned it before the chief justice, who directed his staff to look into the matter.”

The official high court web address is www.bombayhighcourt.nic.in.

The page has incorporated several changes of late — an online payment-of-fees facility has been introduced, and the layout changed to make it more user-friendly.

Deputy commissioner of police, crime branch, and Mumbai police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli said, “I don’t want to comment on the investigations, but assure you that we will proceed as per the legal provisions under the Information Technology Act.”