Delhi High Court Orders Facebook, Telegram, and Domain Registrar to Disclose Details of Accounts Deceiving Investors under the Name of Sequoia

Delhi High Court Orders Facebook, Telegram, and Domain Registrar to Disclose Details of Accounts Deceiving Investors under the Name of Sequoia

The Delhi High Court has instructed Facebook, Telegram, and a Domain Name Registrar (DNR) to provide reports in sealed envelopes disclosing the identities of persons responsible for accounts, channels, or websites allegedly engaging in deceptive practices under the name of Sequoia Capital, a venture capital company.

Justice Sanjeev Narula ordered Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook) to block or remove access to the profiles or accounts mentioned in Document A attached to the complaint. Additionally, Meta Platforms Inc. was directed to disclose, in a sealed cover, the mobile numbers, email addresses, and IP addresses associated with the creation of the fake Facebook profiles or accounts within four weeks from the date of the order.

The platform is also instructed to remove or block such WhatsApp groups or communities, along with the associated WhatsApp accounts.

Justice Narula instructed Telegram to eliminate or restrict access to the channels specified by Sequoia. Additionally, Telegram has been ordered to submit, in a sealed envelope, the requisite details regarding the administrators of the groups and channels mentioned in the complaint within four weeks from the issuance of the order. Moreover, Telegram has been instructed to provide an affidavit outlining the measures it can implement as an intermediary platform to prevent the formation of new groups under the name "Senee Trader" by either the same or new administrators. The court has asked Telegram to provide an affidavit detailing whether it is technically feasible for them to determine the presence of any other groups using names such as "SENEE TRADER," "SEQUOIA," or "PEAK XV" in their group names or descriptions. This affidavit is to be submitted within four weeks from the date of the order.

The court directed X (formerly Twitter) to take action to remove the accounts mentioned by Sequoia. Additionally, the court directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Union of India, and the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Union of India, to issue necessary notifications and directives to all telecom and internet service providers, domain name registrars, social media platforms, and messaging apps in India. These directives aim to permanently block, delete, or remove access to all telephone numbers, websites, domain names, social media accounts, and messaging platform accounts mentioned in Documents A, B, and C, which are relevant to the present case.

The above directions were issued in two separate cases filed by Sequoia against John Doe and Seene Trader.

In one case, Sequoia alleged that Defendant No. 1 (unknown) operates a Facebook account named 'Sequoia Capital Academy'. This account falsely claims affiliation with 'Sequoia Capital Business School' and alleges that Investment Manager Mr. Chinmoy Golecha is recruiting 100 investors to join his club for free. Additionally, it provides prospective investors with a link to join a Telegram group named "The Future is in My Hands.”

Sequoia further alleged that this Telegram group is being utilized to persuade potential investors to invest their funds in stocks and other alternative investment options via mobile applications. Sequoia claimed that the mobile application misappropriates the Plaintiffs SEQUOIA and PEAK XV PARTNERS trademarks and disseminates misleading and inaccurate statements suggesting association or affiliation with the Plaintiffs. It was additionally alleged that the imposters manage multiple social media profiles on Facebook and 'X', promoting the 'Sequoia Capital Business School'. These profiles claim that Mr. Chinmaya Golecha, an expert, has commenced conducting live classes on stock knowledge in the "live broadcast room.”

In the second lawsuit, Sequoia alleged that Seene Trader is running a fraudulent online investment and trading platform through websites such as www.senee.in, www.senee.net, www.senee.org, and a mobile application named “Senee Group". They are also unlawfully misusing the plaintiffs' names and trademarks in fake job advertisements and fake Facebook profiles to deceive job seekers and potential investors.

Sequoia alleged that Seene Trader is disseminating fabricated news feeds, including promoting a roadshow advertised as ‘Senee Group India celebrates Diwali with a Successful IPO Global Roadshow at NASDAQ’, while falsely claiming association with another legitimate capital venture investment firm named “Seafund Ventures”. Additionally, Defendant No. 1 is accused of misusing the SEBI registration number of "Seafund Ventures" on its fraudulent websites. There are numerous articles, YouTube videos, and victim comments on the internet alleging that “Senee Trader” is a fraudulent entity that has swindled investors out of substantial amounts of money.

The court held that the defendant is luring unsuspecting consumers by leveraging the reputation associated with the plaintiff's registered trademarks. The operators or group administrators of various WhatsApp and Telegram groups, communities, and channels have not been authorized by the Plaintiffs to offer job recruitment, financial trading, and investment opportunities, and they are misrepresenting themselves to the public. The court further stated that the websites www.senee.in, www.senee.org, and www.senee.net appear to be, prima facie, illegitimate, intended to deceive unwary users into "investing" significant amounts of money, which is detrimental to public interest. Additionally, this deceptive practice affects the plaintiffs standing in the market, as consumers are initially attracted by the use of the “SEQUOIA” and 'PEAK XV PARTNERS” trademarks.

Therefore, the Court ordered the defendant or any individual acting on their behalf to refrain from using Plaintiffs registered “SEQUOIA” trademarks or any variations thereof as part of their domain names, websites, mobile applications, social media handles and profiles, credentials and descriptions, promotional or business activities in digital or print media, bank accounts, or any business documents in a manner that would constitute infringement of Plaintiffs trademarks.