New Delhi, Oct 27 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed all states and union Territories to furnish details of FIRs registered in “digital arrest” scams, a growing form of cyber fraud where victims are coerced into paying money by impostors posing as law enforcement officials.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the court may consider entrusting the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), provided the agency has adequate resources to handle the growing number of such cases nationwide.
The direction came during the hearing of a suo motu case initiated by the court on October 17, following reports of widespread digital arrest scams targeting citizens, particularly senior citizens. During the hearing, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench that the CBI was already investigating a few such cases.
Justice Bagchi responded, “Please find out whether the CBI has the resources to handle all the cases.” Justice Kant added, “If they need cybercrime experts, they may tell us.” The solicitor general further clarified that the CBI is taking assistance from the Cyber Crime Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
However, Justice Bagchi cautioned about the scale of the problem: “The problem is volume. We have seen this in ponzi cases. The pressure on the CBI was too much then. Are you prepared for an exclusive investigation? And that is the extra outlay you might need.”
Emphasising the need for a coordinated national response, the bench said it was in favour of a uniform probe, but refrained from passing any immediate orders until all States were heard. “We are not issuing directions today. We are issuing notice to the States to ensure there is a uniform investigation,” Justice Kant stated, issuing notice to all states and union Territories.
The case was triggered by a letter from a senior citizen couple who reported being defrauded of Rs 1.5 crore between September 1 and 16 by scammers posing as officials of the CBI, Intelligence Bureau, and judiciary. The fraudsters used phone and video calls, even showing forged Supreme Court orders to intimidate the victims into transferring funds under threat of arrest.
Subsequently, two FIRs were registered by the cyber crime branch in Ambala, revealing an organised nationwide pattern of similar offences. Media reports also indicated that comparable scams had occurred in several other States, prompting the Court to take suo motu cognisance of the issue.
On October 17, the court had sought responses from the Central government and the CBI, while also requesting the assistance of the attorney general of India. It had directed the Haryana cyber crime police, Ambala, to submit a status report, noting the urgent need for coordinated efforts between Central and state agencies.
During today’s hearing, the Additional Advocate General for Haryana informed the court that more FIRs had been registered over similar offences and sought time to compile and file the details. The court granted one week and extended the direction to all other States to file details of FIRs related to such scams.
“Besides the two FIRs, there are some more FIRs pertaining to similar crimes in Haryana. The AAG seeks and is granted one week’s time to furnish the details. Meanwhile, we issue notice to all the states and UTs directing them to provide details of FIRs registered in their respective jurisdictions pertaining to digital arrest scams. No formal counter is required only details of cases may be brought on record,” the Bench directed.
