Supreme Court Issues Fresh Directions to Strengthen Crackdown on Digital Arrest Scams
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a fresh set of directions to strengthen the country's response to digital arrest scams, directing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dealing with mule bank accounts and asking all states and Union Territories to operationalise cyber fraud grievance redressal and money restoration mechanisms within four weeks.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, passed the directions while reviewing the latest status report submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) on measures taken to tackle cyber fraud.
RBI, States Given Four Weeks
The apex court directed the RBI to issue an SOP for identifying and handling mule accounts—bank accounts used to receive or transfer money obtained through cyber fraud or money laundering.
The court also asked all states to operationalise State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres and adopt the e-Zero FIR mechanism in consultation with I4C to speed up action in cyber fraud cases.
Victim Compensation Framework Under Consideration
The Supreme Court also asked the Centre's Inter-Departmental Committee to examine a framework for shared liability and compensation for victims of digital arrest scams.
Further, High Courts have been asked to inform courts and authorities handling frozen bank account cases about the cyber fraud grievance redressal mechanism. State Legal Services Authorities have also been directed to launch public awareness campaigns on cyber fraud prevention and recovery of defrauded money.
Digital Arrest Cases Declining
The court noted that complaints related to digital arrest scams have declined significantly, from 1.23 lakh cases in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and 16,377 cases till June 30, 2026. It also observed that the amount lost in such frauds has reduced, but stressed that continuous monitoring remains essential.
The matter will next be heard on September 16.
The proceedings stem from the Supreme Court's suo motu case initiated after a senior citizen couple reported losing their life savings in a digital arrest scam.
