Delhi HC Orders Facebook, WhatsApp To Suspend Accounts Falsely Using Razorpay’s Trademarks

The Delhi High Court has ordered social media and messaging platforms Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram to suspend accounts infringing on fintech unicorn Razorpay’s trademarks and conducting fraudulent activities. 

In a statement on Monday (July 8), Razorpay said it has secured a John Doe order from the Delhi HC highlighting its “commitment to safeguard customers and protect its brand identity against financial fraud”.

Razorpay recently filed a lawsuit against unknown individuals for misrepresenting themselves as recruiters from the company, offering part-time jobs for extra income against deposits and other false promises. The “scammers” were allegedly using platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram. 

As per the startup’s statement, the HC observed that a prima facie case was established in favour of Razorpay. 

The court has now directed domain name registrars to block or suspend access to domain names operated by unknown entities involved in these scams. It has asked WhatsApp to provide basic subscriber information related to the accounts to be blocked. Besides, WhatsApp and Telegram have been directed to block channels or accounts operated by the violators. 

The HC has also directed banks to freeze or suspend the operations of the bank accounts used by the fraudsters and asked the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to suspend or disable the UPI IDs involved in these financial scams.

Razorpay has also placed a disclaimer on its website to caution the public against such frauds. 

“Throughout the years, we have dedicated ourselves to implementing robust security measures to safeguard our customers from financial fraud. This includes proactive steps like regular infrastructure updates and rigorous security protocols. This legal order reaffirms our commitment to transparency, accountability, and trust in our services as the Razorpay brand,” said Shivli Katyayan, head of legal at Razorpay.

Founded in 2014 by Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur, Razorpay’s omnichannel payments and banking platform for businesses provides comprehensive tech solutions. 

Razorpay is among the Indian tech startups preparing to reverse flip to India. It is likely to shift its headquarters to India from the US by the end of this year.

Earlier this year, the Delhi HC also ordered social media giant Meta to delete WhatsApp groups and remove or block access to WhatsApp accounts associated with mobile numbers that were allegedly used for cheating people by using the names of Peak XV Partners and Sequoia Capital.