Context:
• The Supreme Court of India has proposed transferring all investigations related to the rising menace of “digital arrest” scams to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a coordinated, national-level response.
• The move follows an alarming surge in cyber-extortion and offshore money-laundering networks, defrauding citizens across multiple states through forged digital legal notices and fake law-enforcement impersonations.
Key Highlights:
- Supreme Court Intervention
- The Court took suo motu cognizance of the growing number of “digital arrest” cases, which involve online intimidation using forged police or court orders.
- Notices were issued to all States and Union Territories seeking detailed data on registered FIRs, arrests, and monetary losses linked to these scams.
- The CBI was identified as the nodal agency most suited to handle such inter-state, transnational digital crimes.
- The Attorney General informed the bench that offshore money-laundering syndicates—operating from Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and other Southeast Asian countries—were behind these coordinated scams.
- Case Trigger and Broader Pattern
- The proceedings began with a petition from an Ambala-based couple who were defrauded of nearly ₹1 crore after receiving fake arrest and court warrants digitally.
- Victims are typically contacted via spoofed calls, WhatsApp messages, or emails, and coerced into transferring funds under threat of arrest.
- The Solicitor General emphasized that the problem extends beyond India’s jurisdiction, requiring international cybercrime cooperation and intelligence sharing.
- Proposed CBI Role and Coordination
- The Supreme Court observed that a centralized CBI investigation would ensure:
- Uniform handling of inter-state cases,
- Better coordination with Interpol and financial intelligence units (FIUs), and
- Systematic tracing of money trails through hawala and crypto channels.
- The Court adjourned the matter to obtain data from all states before formally entrusting the consolidated probe to the CBI.
Relevant Mains Points:
- Significance of the Move:
- Addresses jurisdictional overlap and fragmented enforcement across states.
- Ensures a centralized intelligence and prosecution framework for digital financial crimes.
- Demonstrates judicial activism in safeguarding citizens from technology-enabled fraud.
- Challenges:
- Jurisdictional limitations in tracing overseas cybercriminals.
- Lack of specialized digital-forensic manpower in Indian law-enforcement agencies.
- Regulatory lag in monitoring cryptocurrency and online fund-transfer mechanisms.
- Way Forward:
- Establish a National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C)–CBI task force for cross-border investigations.
- Strengthen bilateral treaties and MLATs (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties) for data sharing with Southeast Asian nations.
- Launch nationwide awareness campaigns under the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative to prevent victimization.
- Deploy AI-driven early warning systems to detect mass phishing and digital-extortion attempts.