NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a pan-India CBI investigation into “digital arrest” scams, underscoring the growing threat posed by organised cyber-fraud. The directive is significant because several opposition-ruled states have withdrawn general consent for CBI probes within their territories—yet the court has now empowered the agency to investigate these cases nationwide.
Putting aside—for now—two other major cybercrimes (investment scams and part-time job scams), the bench said the CBI would focus exclusively on digital arrest cases. The court will later consider whether those other fraud types require judicial monitoring.
Expressing concern about possible banking system collusion, the court said, “CBI shall have a free hand to investigate bankers under the Prevention of Corruption Act wherever there is suspicion of involvement in opening ‘mule accounts’ used by fraudsters to park extorted funds.”
Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that many of these crimes originate from foreign scam hubs and directed the CBI to coordinate with Interpol to pursue cybercrime networks abroad.
The court also issued notice to the RBI, asking why AI and machine-learning tools should not be deployed to detect mule accounts and automatically flag suspicious deposits.
IT intermediaries were instructed to preserve all data linked to devices used by scammers, share it with the CBI, and provide full assistance in ongoing or future investigations.
Raising alarm over rampant misuse of SIM cards, the bench said there were widespread violations in how telecom operators issued multiple SIMs under a single identity. It directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to submit proposals to curb such misuse.
All states and UTs were ordered to establish and operationalise regional/state Cyber Crime Coordination Centres to work closely with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the home ministry.
The bench also sought a coordinated action plan from the MHA, Ministry of Finance, DoT, and MeitY to combat digital arrest scams.
The matter was adjourned for two weeks to allow the CBI to assemble experienced personnel from state police forces and IT experts to support the nationwide probe.
