NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it is considering introducing a bill during the ongoing Parliament session to make digital arrest and AI-generated deepfakes distinct criminal offences, after the court observed that existing penal laws do not specifically define them.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the proposed legislation would classify digital arrest and AI-generated deepfakes as standalone offences and prescribe specific punishments for them.
The submission came during the Supreme Court’s suo motu hearing on measures to curb the growing menace of digital arrest scams.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana noted that while the court has adopted a strict approach by denying bail to those accused of digital arrest scams, the offences themselves are not expressly defined under current criminal laws.
“You may need to formally define the offence of digital arrest in the penal laws,” the bench told Attorney General R. Venkataramani.
The court observed that digital arrest scams involve elements of extortion, robbery and organised crime, and questioned whether they should be recognised as a standalone offence with stringent consequences, including the freezing of assets belonging to the accused.
Justice Bagchi said creating a legal framework to tackle emerging cybercrimes was the responsibility of the legislature.
“We now have deepfakes which can be used to mislead people or for cheating and impersonation. Using our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, we can neither define a crime nor create a new offence,” he said.
Mehta informed the bench that the government had consulted him on the issue and was likely to introduce the proposed legislation during the current session of Parliament.
Attorney General Venkataramani said coordinated efforts by a high-level inter-departmental committee had led to a significant decline in digital arrest cases. He added that the committee was finalising a comprehensive report to identify gaps in the existing system and recommend measures to strengthen enforcement.
The Supreme Court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the sharp rise in digital arrest scams, particularly those targeting retired citizens and defrauding them of their life savings. It had subsequently directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate such cases across the country.
Appearing for WhatsApp, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that the messaging platform was working closely with the government to prevent its misuse for criminal activities.
