SC tasks CBI to tackle ‘digital arrests’

SC tasks CBI to tackle ‘digital arrests’

ourt says every type of cyberscam that defrauds the public needs to be probed
Court directly ordering CBI, overriding state consent, is an extraordinary step
States directed to accord their consent for investigations in their jurisdictions
The Supreme Court on Monday tasked the Central Bureau of Investigation with cracking down on ‘digital arrest’ scammers and their associates, giving the agency a “free hand” to launch an anti-corruption probe into bankers involved in the opening of mule accounts linked to cybercrimes.
A Bench of the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi found “enough was enough”, and held that ‘digital arrest’ scams required the immediate attention of the CBI.
A note provided by the Centre in the court showed that ₹3,000 crore had already been scammed by fraudsters from victims, mostly drawn from the elderly population, through ‘digital arrests’.
“There is no second opinion that every type of cyber scam defrauding victims, especially senior citizens, is required to be investigated. The CBI shall investigate first the digital arrest scams. Other types of cyber scams [fraudulent investments, promise of part-time jobs] can come in the second and third stages,” the court observed in the order.
The court directly ordering the CBI, overriding state consent, to conduct a pan-India probe and hunt down scammers is an extraordinary step. It cannot order the CBI, except when compelled by exceptional circumstances.
Directive to States
Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, and Tripura have been directed to accord consent to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act to investigate ‘digital arrest’ cases under the Information Technology Act, 2000 in their jurisdictions.
The court directed the CBI to identify police officers from different States, and domain experts, to aid the investigation. “We want the CBI to undertake a comprehensive investigation on identified cybercrimes on a pan-India basis,” Chief Justice Kant observed.
Considering the magnitude of the ‘digital arrest’ scams and widespread tentacles of the fraudsters, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to coordinate with the Interpol to identify cybercrime havens abroad. The court impleaded and issued notice to the Reserve Bank of India to respond on the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to trace ‘layering’ or the moving of the proceeds of crime through multiple bank accounts to escape detection.
Invoking the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021, the apex court directed online intermediaries to cooperate with the CBI, and provide the agency assistance with regard to data in connection with investigation into ‘digital arrest’ cases.
States and Union Territories have to ensure the establishment and operationalisation of regional cybercrime coordination centres to compile data on cybercrimes, and for initiating preventive measures against the offence, the court directed. They should be linked to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is designed to provide an ecosystem for law enforcement agencies to deal with cybercrime in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
The court said telecom operators had been careless in issuing SIM cards.
“The records before this court show an alarming, negligent and irresponsible approach of the telecom service operators in issuing SIM cards, particularly multiple SIMs, in the same name,” Chief Justice Kant noted.
The Telecom Department was ordered to submit a proposal for the consideration of the top court, which would be eventually complied with by telecom service operators to prevent the misuse of SIMs.
The court’s amicus curiae in the case, advocate N.S. Nappinai, classified cyber frauds into three main categories — digital arrest, fraudulent investments, and the promise of part-time jobs.
All these frauds are meant to defraud innocent victims, particularly senior citizens, of their hard-earned money. Whatever the category, they need to be stopped, the CJI stressed.