The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to all States and Union Territories in a suo motu case concerning the alarming rise in digital arrest scams, where fraudsters impersonate police officers and judges using forged court orders to extort money from victims.

A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed grave concern over the nationwide spread of such cyber frauds and indicated that the investigation could soon be entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a unified probe.

“There are multiple instances occurring across the country. We are inclined to assign the investigation to the CBI since this is a crime operating on a pan-India  possibly cross-border  scale,” Justice Surya Kant observed.

The Court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the matter following a letter from a senior citizen couple from Haryana, who had fallen prey to one such scam.

Attorney General R. Venkataramani informed the Bench that the money-laundering networks behind these scams often operate from outside India.

“Many of these syndicates are based in regions across Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand,” he said.

The State of Haryana, to which notice was earlier issued, conveyed that it had no objection to transferring two FIRs registered by the Cyber Crime Branch in Ambala to the CBI for further investigation.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India, supported the move, stating that the CBI is already investigating similar digital fraud cases. He elaborated on the human trafficking aspect linked to these scams:

“Many individuals are lured abroad with false job offers. On arrival, their passports are seized, and they are coerced into running these online fraud networks. They become modern-day slaves,” Mehta explained.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi described the problem as an “international issue”, referring to recent crackdowns on cyber scam syndicates in Myanmar.

The Bench also sought a detailed report from the Union Government and CBI regarding their capacity and resources to handle the increasing number of cases if a mass transfer of investigations takes place.

“Considering the scale of the fraud, we need to assess whether the CBI has the manpower and technical expertise to deal with all such cases,” Justice Kant remarked.

In response, Mehta assured the Court that the CBI was working in coordination with the Cyber Crime Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which includes technically qualified experts. Justice Kant added that the agency could approach the Court if additional specialised cyber experts were required from outside the police establishment.

Concluding the hearing, the Supreme Court directed all States and Union Territories to furnish details of FIRs related to digital arrest scams registered within their jurisdictions. The matter will be heard next after their responses are received.

Case Title: In Re: Victims of Digital Arrest Related to Forged Documents

Case No.: SMW (Crl.) 3/2025