Journalism of Courage
On ‘digital arrests’, Supreme Court’s ‘act against mule accounts’ message
States and UTs have been directed to adopt the e-zero FIR mechanism in consultation with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
The IDC was told to examine the proposal for reducing the existing monetary threshold for CBI to undertake investigation into such cases – for example, by aggregating fraudulent instances involving the same organised network. (File image)
Expediting efforts to check the menace of ‘digital arrest’ scams, the Supreme Court Tuesday directed states and Union Territories to formally adopt and circulate within four weeks the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prescribing temporary debit holds on suspicious amounts/accounts to prevent mule activities and cyber-enabled fraud.
Issuing a series of directions, the bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said, “While the progress reported at this juncture is appreciable, the mechanisms already put in place require wider adoption, faster disposal, and continued follow-up.”
In April this year, the Supreme Court was told by the Centre that the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC), constituted following directions from the Court, had agreed with the SOP framework, proposed by the Reserve Bank of India, prescribing action by banks for placing temporary debit holds on suspicious amounts/accounts.
On Tuesday, the bench asked states and Union Territories to notify and operationalise State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres within the time period.
It said the SOP must additionally incorporate a grievance redressal mechanism, a money restoration module and measures for public awareness regarding both.
The bench asked the Registrar Generals of all High Courts to bring the grievance redressal mechanism to the attention of courts and adjudicating authorities dealing with freezing of bank accounts.
“An aggrieved person may ordinarily be encouraged to avail of that mechanism in the first instance, though it shall not be a bar to any prosecution, statutory, or other legal remedies,” it said.
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States and UTs have been directed to adopt the e-zero FIR mechanism in consultation with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
Underlining the need for fast disposal of complaints regarding freezing of bank accounts in such cases of cyber-enabled financial frauds, the bench asked the IDC to issue necessary advisories and directions to all States, UTs, ministries and government departments to undertake extensive public awareness programmes on prevention of cyber crime and digital arrest scams, grievance redressal and money restoration modules and the SOP of the Ministry of Home Affairs on custody and restoration of defrauded money.
It asked the committee to coordinate with banks regarding measures to prevent ‘digital arrest’ scams, facilitate recovery of defrauded money, assist investigations and ensure compliance with applicable laws.
To reinforce protection of victims of ‘digital arrest’ fraud, the bench also asked the IDC to consider the proposal for introducing a shared liability and victim compensation framework for them.
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The IDC was told to examine the proposal for reducing the existing monetary threshold for CBI to undertake investigation into such cases – for example, by aggregating fraudulent instances involving the same organised network
Given the misuse of telecom services for perpetrating cyber fraud, the bench asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and I4C to examine whether time-based restrictions can be imposed on audio and video calls and to inform the bench about its feasibility, utility and possible alternatives.
The bench also underlined the need for greater public awareness on the subject of cyber-enabled financial frauds and asked legal services committees across the country to do more in this regard.
Perusing a status report by I4C, the bench noted that defrauded money totalling Rs 18.05 crore had been restored to victims in 36,290 cases .
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According to the report, the number of ‘digital arrest’ complaints received on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) fell from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 58,239 in 2025. The following period until June 30, 2026 saw 16,377 complaints.
The bench said, “So far as the investigation by the CBI is concerned, the report reveals that the investigative agency has presently registered 10 digital arrest cases and several related cases. In one investigation, it identified 238 victims across 67 first-layer bank accounts, involving transactions of approximately Rs 80 crore, and conducted searches at 93 locations across 16 States. It is further stated that the Inter-Departmental Committee has requested the CBI to examine the feasibility of lowering the existing threshold of Rs 10 crore and to consider taking up cases involving the same organised network where the cumulative fraud exceeds the prescribed threshold.”
It asked “all adjudicating authorities… including the RBI, ombudsmen, consumer protection fora, FEMA/jurisdictional authorities, jurisdictional courts and law enforcement agencies… to ensure that recovered amounts are disbursed to victims of digital arrests in an expeditious manner.”
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the matter in November last year following a written complaint by a senior citizen couple from Ambala in Haryana. The couple had said that they were cheated of Rs 1.05 crore by ‘digital arrest’ scammers who allegedly threatened them with forged orders of the Supreme Court, Bombay High Court and Enforcement Directorate.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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