Supreme Court Seeks Nationwide Data On ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams; Issues Notices To All States And UTs

On Monday, the Supreme Court sought detailed information from all States and Union Territories on the rising wave of ‘digital arrest’ frauds. In these scams, callers posing as law enforcement or judicial officers extort money using fake court documents.

The directive came from a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, which took up the issue on its own motion.

The court asked each State government to provide details of all registered FIRs relating to such crimes.

“We are not issuing directions today. We are issuing notice to the States — to ensure there is a uniform investigation,” the judges observed.

Justice Kant noted that the scam appeared to span multiple regions. He said the inquiry might need to be handed over to the CBI for a coordinated investigation.

“There are more than one instance that have taken place in different parts. We are inclined to entrust the matter to the CBI in respect of all the States because this is a kind of crime which may be operating pan-India, or even across the border,” the Bench stated.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, informed the court that the CBI had already begun investigating similar cases. He added that the probe was being carried out with technical support from the Cyber Crime Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Overseas Links to Fraud Networks

Attorney General R Venkataramani told the court that many financial networks behind these scams were based overseas. He said several operated from countries such as Myanmar and Thailand.

“There are money laundering gangs located outside our territory, in many parts of Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand,” he said.

During the hearing, the Haryana government, earlier notified by the court, addressed the bench. It informed the court that two FIRs had been registered.

The state government detailed the progress made in these cases. It also expressed no objection to transferring the investigation to the CBI.

The court granted Haryana an additional week to share information on other similar cases.

“Besides the two FIRs, there are some more FIRs pertaining to similar crimes (in Haryana). AAG seeks and is granted one week time to furnish the details of those FIRs,” the order stated.

The Supreme Court also directed all other States and Union Territories to present information on comparable FIRs lodged in their jurisdictions.

It further clarified that formal counter-affidavits were unnecessary at this stage.

“In this regard, no formal counter-affidavit is required to be filed and only details of cases may be brought on record,” the Bench ordered.

The matter will be heard again once the States file their reports.

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