Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) has filed an application seeking intervention in the suo motu case taken up by the Supreme Court in relation to "digital arrest" scams.

SCAORA says that "digital arrest" scams affect the entire country, including legal professionals, and gravely undermine citizens' right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Giving statistics, the advocates' body pleads that the incidents have escalated and continue to rise daily. "The Ministry of Home Affairs on 25.03.2025 issued a Press Release which revealed a shocking figure of 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts, used for digital arrest, were identified and blocked by I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs). Imperatively, till 28.02.2025, more than 7.81 lakhs SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs, as reported by the Police authorities, have been blocked by the Government of India."

The application highlights the case of a 72-year old woman AoR, who was defrauded in a digital arrest scam of approx. 3.29 crores. She has managed to recover only Rs.13.5 lakhs till date. "The investigating agency has reported jurisdictional hurdles, a lack of manpower, inter-state coordination issues, and foreign-linked phone numbers as the causes of the delay, leaving the victim to run from pillar to post for compliance. The matter stands virtually stagnant, demonstrating the absence of a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”) or coordinated protocol for the investigation of such offences."

Among other things, the petition filed by SCOARA Secretary Nikhil Jain through AoR Astha Sharma highlights:

- Fraudsters are motivated by the public's lack of awareness and the authorities' inefficiency in adequately responding;

- Several perpetrators who orchestrate these acts operate from abroad, making it a threat to national security;

- Factors like artificial intelligence have made things worse, as now there can be voice cloning, spoofed numbers, fake emails and deepfakes, including setting up of virtual courtrooms with impersonated judges;

- No RBI circular, guideline, or master directions exist specifically dealing with digital arrest;

- Offense of “digital arrest” combines elements of cheating (Section 318 BNS), criminal intimidation (Section 351 BNS), extortion (Section 308 BNS), and personation (Section 319 BNS). However, registration and investigation is complicated, as multiple banks and states are involved;

- Section 70B of the IT Act empowers CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) to coordinate cybersecurity incidents. Still, there is no procedural mandate for its engagement in criminal cases involving impersonation or extortion by digital means. "Coordination among CERT-In, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, under a uniform SOP, is essential for tracing, freezing, and repatriating defrauded funds in real time."

- A dual-layered statutory regime, viz., (i) preventive under FEMA and (ii) punitive under PMLA, is capable of addressing the financial dimensions of digital arrest scams and facilitating the repatriation of defrauded funds to victims.

SCAORA also calls for door-to-door awareness initiatives by the Central government, state governments, RBI and bank representatives, so people can know how to protect themselves from fraudsters who feed on their fear and psychological trauma.

It further emphasizes that the surge in digital arrest scams has to be addressed by "effective implementation of the existing legislation as well as by seeking cross-border cooperation to catch hold of the perpetrators".

Case Title: In Re: Victims of Digital Arrest Related to Forged Documents, SMW (Crl.) 3/2025