SC directs RBI to create bank SOPs for handling digital arrest fraud cases, including account freezes, grievance redressal and money recovery
The move aims to speed up action against digital arrest scams, improve recovery of stolen funds and provide stronger protection to victims
The court also directed states to set up cyber crime coordination centres, asked a panel to examine victim compensation and shared liability, and sought review of telecom measures to curb scam calls
Amid growing instances of digital scams, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to strengthen measures against the growing threat by introducing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for banks within four weeks to deal with cyber fraud-linked accounts.
The SOP will include a grievance redressal system, a mechanism to restore recovered money and introduce more public awareness measures, the court said, as per a report by Live Law.
A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana issued the directions while hearing suo motu proceedings on digital arrest scams.
The court also directed all states and union territories (UTs) to operationalise State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres within a month. It also asked states to adopt the e-Zero FIR mechanism in consultation with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The aim is to speed up the reporting and investigation of cyber fraud cases.
Besides, an inter-departmental committee has also been urged to look into lowering the financial threshold for CBI investigations into cyber fraud cases. The committee will examine whether multiple fraud cases linked to the same organised network can be combined for investigation.
The court noted progress made by agencies in tackling digital frauds. As per a government report, ₹18.05 Cr has been restored in 36,290 cases with the help of 57 banks and state authorities.
The latest court directions come at a time when online extortion scams are on the rise. Fraudsters often initiate conversations with unsuspecting victims, identify vulnerabilities they can exploit, and then threaten to publish defamatory content online unless they are paid.
In bid to safeguard the digital spaces, the Centre recently asked WhatsApp to introduce stronger safeguards against digital arrest scams.
The Home Ministry’s inter-departmental committee had asked the Meta-owned platform to block device IDs linked to scam activities to prevent repeat offences. The platform agreed to introduce additional safety measures, including better caller information, warnings for suspicious accounts and improved detection of impersonation attempts.
The committee also asked WhatsApp to strengthen systems to identify malicious files, misuse of government logos and AI-generated content used in scams.
The top court began examining the issue last year after a sharp rise in such frauds. It had earlier noted that more than ₹54,000 Cr had allegedly been lost through these scams and called them similar to “robbery or dacoity”.
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