Bombay High Court
Pantomath Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd vs Unknown Person (John Doe) on 29 January, 2026
Author: Milind N. Jadhav
Bench: Milind N. Jadhav
P9.SL.34088.2025+.doc
HARSHADA H. SAWANT
(P.A.)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
SUIT (L) NO.34088 OF 2025
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.34091 OF 2025
Pantomath Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd. .. Plaintiff
Versus
Unknown Person (John Doe) and Ors. .. Defendants
....................
Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud a/w. Ms. Tejal Patel and Mr. Rahul
Singh, Advocates for Plaintiff.
...................
CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J.
DATE : JANUARY 29, 2026
P.C.:
1. Not on Board. Mentioned by way of filing praecipe dated 29.01.2026. Perused the praecipe.
2. Heard Dr. Chandrachud, learned Advocate for Plaintiff.
3. Plaintiff has filed present Suit seeking immediate indulgence of the Court in respect of reliefs prayed for under the provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000 against private Defendants namely Defendant No.1. Defendant No.1 is John Doe / Ashok Kumar contemplated and identified in the Suit plaint through various emails created through Proton AG website / Application originating from beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this Country. Defendant No.1 has addressed several emails to Plaintiff and Securities and Exchange Board of India (for 1 of 6 ::: Uploaded on - 29/01/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 29/01/2026 20:52:39 ::: P9.SL.34088.2025+.doc short 'SEBI') (to the knowledge of Plaintiff) contending that he is a whistle blower and has communicated, published, distributed various defamatory, threatening, false and malicious allegations concerning working of the Plaintiff - Company, its management, its operations and its operations and functioning with SEBI.
4. To buttress the case of Plaintiff Dr. Chandrachud has drawn my attention to the first email dated 16.08.2025 appended at page No.23 of the Suit plaint followed by subsequent emails dated 16.09.2025 appended at page No.25 and 15.10.2025 appended at page No.28. Prima facie perusing contents of these emails, it is seen that contents of same prima facie threaten the Plaintiff and its activities as also maliciously malign the reputation of the Plaintiff - Company. The emails are not substantiated at all. These emails are also endrosed to SEBI as can be seen from the record of the case.
5. Defendant No.1 does not stop at this only. Dr. Chandrachud has draw my attention to page No.31 which are transcripts of whatsapp messages which are sent on whatsapp Application / website to the Managing Directors / Directors of Plaintiff.
6. Prima facie, reading of the said material shows the malicious tirade embarked upon by Defendant No.1 accusing Plaintiff - Company of committing fraud and calling for investigation. Once again the said messages are not substantiated and are merely messages sent on 2 of 6 ::: Uploaded on - 29/01/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 29/01/2026 20:52:39 ::: P9.SL.34088.2025+.doc whatsapp. The Suit was filed on 17.10.2025. However before filing of the Suit proceedings being concerned the Plaintiff approached the Investigating Authorities by a detailed complaint dated 09.09.2025 to the Suit plaint. Acting on the said complaint, Plaintiff also received response from the said Investigating Authority and during their meeting it was informed to them that concerned emails are emanating from Switzerland through the website / Application - Proton AG.
7. Dr. Chandrachud would immediately draw my attention to the fact in the case of M/s. Moser Design Associates (India) Private Limited V/s. State of Karnataka and Ors. 1 Court has taken cognizance of emails originating from said Proton AG Website / Application and has passed certain directions to block the said Website / Application Proton AG email id due to serious reasons as stated in that decision.
8. In the present case, it is seen that the emails are received by Plaintiff from the email id : [email protected] whereas whatsapp messages are received from unknown number beginning with the prefix +44 7818. Prima facie, +44 7818 appears to be originating from United Kingdom.
9. Be that as it may, Defendant No.5 which is the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) through its Nodal Officer under Ministry of Home Affairs shall take appropriate steps in accordance 1 Writ Petition No.2358 of 2025 (GM-RES) decided on 29.04.2025.
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10. Plaintiff in their Suit plaint have identified Defendant No.1 to be John Doe / unknown person and operating through aforesaid email id [email protected] whereas Defendant No.2 is Proton AG, the email service provider incorporated in Switzerland which operates the email id 'Proton AG' used by Defendant No.1. Defendant Nos.3 to 5 are functionaries of the Government.
11. After going through the aforesaid material with the able assistance of Dr. Chandrachud, I am of prima facie opinion that the campaign sought to be run by Defendant No.1 is on face of record malicious, unsubstantiated and undoubtedly affects the reputation of the Plaintiff. Plaintiff is governed by various regulatory norms of the SEBI which according to Plaintiff they have been duly observing in all their operations.
12. Dr. Chandrachud clarifies the position that SEBI has not taken any action whatsoever against Plaintiff and the Plaintiff maintains the highest standards of transparency and ethics as required by the policy makers and the regulator in accordance with law in all its operations, filing and dealings.
13. In view of the above, Plaintiff has made out an arguable case for immediate grant of ad-interim relief in terms of prayer clauses (a) 4 of 6 ::: Uploaded on - 29/01/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 29/01/2026 20:52:39 ::: P9.SL.34088.2025+.doc to (d) of the Interim Application which read thus:-
"a) Pending the hearing of the present suit this Hon'ble Court be pleased to Pass interim Injunction restraining Defendant no.1(John Doe), his agents, representatives, or any person acting on his behalf, from communicating, publishing, distributing, circulating, or disseminating in any manner the defamatory, threatening, false, or malicious allegations concerning the Plaintiff and its management in any medium, including print, electronic, or social media;
b) Pending the hearing of the present suit this Hon'ble Court be pleased to Pass interim Injunction directing Defendant no.2 (Proton AG) to forthwith disclose to this Hon'ble Court in a sealed cover all subscriber information, user details, contact details, user logs, IP addresses with timestamps, registration data, and all other relevant information pertaining to the user(s) of the email ID [email protected]. This disclosure should include, but not be limited to, the contents of all emails sent from the said email address, logs of all activities associated with the account, and any other data that may assist in identifying the perpetrator(s) and evidencing the defamatory acts committed by Defendant No.1;
c) Pending the hearing of the present suit this Hon'ble Court be pleased to Pass interim Injunction against defendants and more specifically Defendant No. 2 (Proton AG) to forthwith remove, delete, block, or otherwise restrain access to any and all content, emails, or publications containing the defamatory and threatening material originating from Defendant No.1;
d) That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to Pass a interim injunction directing Defendants No.3, 4, and 5 to take all necessary steps, including issuing requisite directions and notifications, to ensure compliance by Defendant No.2 with the orders passed by this Hon'ble Court for disclosure of information and removal/blocking of defamatory content. "
14. Hence, issue notice to Defendants.
15. Humdast permitted. In addition to Court's notice, Plaintiff is directed to serve the Defendants a copy of this order and copy of Suit and Interim Application and inform about the next date of hearing by any permissible mode of service and file appropriate affidavit of service with tangible proof thereof.
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16. Defendants are directed to file their Affidavit-in-Reply before the next date with an advance copy to Advocate for Plaintiff.
17. Liberty to apply for further orders is granted to Plaintiff on compliance of the above order.
18. Stand over to 11th February, 2026.
H. H. SAWANT [ MILIND N. JADHAV, J. ] Digitally signed HARSHADA by HARSHADA HANUMANT HANUMANT SAWANT SAWANT Date: 2026.01.29 18:35:34 +0530 6 of 6 ::: Uploaded on - 29/01/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 29/01/2026 20:52:39 :::