Supreme Court directs states, UTs to submit details of digital-arrest cases as it considers a uniform CBI investigation into impersonation scams that extort seniors and citizens.
Supreme Court Raises Alarm Over Digital Arrest Scams
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered states and Union territories to submit details of pending digital-arrest cases as it weighs a uniform probe by an independent agency, preferably the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi gave a week for the information to be furnished and listed the matter for hearing on November 3.
The suo motu case targets a rising form of cyber fraud known as “digital arrests,” in which criminals impersonate law-enforcement officers, intelligence officials or judges to coerce victims into surrendering money or property through forged orders and fake proceedings. The court said these schemes have a strong international link and indicated that only a central agency with pan-India reach can undertake a coordinated investigation.
The move follows a disturbing complaint from a senior citizen couple in Ambala who alleged that fraudsters impersonating CBI officers on a video call threatened to seize their property using a forged Supreme Court order and defrauded them of ₹1 crore. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the problem has three limbs — financial, technical and human — and highlighted the difficulty investigators face when sources of scam calls are traceable to overseas “scam compounds.”
