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Informist, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025

 

--SC notice to govt for action plan against digital arrest scams in country

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Friday issued notices to the Centre, the Central Bureau of Investigation and other parties for a pan-India "stern action" plan against digital arrest scams. The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu cognisance of spiralling incidents of scamsters using digital arrest to extort money from citizens after a complaint that the apex court's forged order was used to con people.

 

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi said that they were "aghast" that the fraudsters have fabricated multiple judicial orders in the name of the Supreme Court, including a freeze order issued under the money laundering law bearing forged signatures of judge, officer of Enforcement Directorate and a court stamp. Further, the forged documents included various fictitious proceedings before the Bombay High Court and false claims of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, the bench noted.

 

The forgery of documents and the brazen criminal misuse of the name, seal and judicial authority of the apex court and the high court is a matter of "grave concern", said the top court. Judicial orders with fake signatures of judges strike "at the very foundation of the public trust system" on the judiciary, the court said. Such grave criminal acts cannot be treated as an orderly or routine offence of cheating or cyber crime, the court added.

 

The top court also sought the reply of state of Haryana and cyber crime department, Ambala, as the complaint was filed in this region. Having regard to the manner in which such crimes were being committed, the apex court requested the Attorney General for India, R. Venkataramani, to assist the court. The top court asked the Haryana police officials and cyber crime department, Ambala, to file a status report of the investigation that had taken place on the complainant's case.

 

The case has its genesis from a complaint received by the top court from a senior citizen couple, who had been defrauded of their life savings through a digital arrest scam. The victims have said that they were contacted by persons impersonating the officers of Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau and judicial authorities through virtual conference and telephone. The fraudsters displayed forged orders of the Supreme Court through WhatsApp and virtual conferences. Under the threat of arrest of those forged documents, the couple was coerced to transfer INR 15 million through multiple bank transactions.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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