New Delhi, August 4, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a fresh set of nationwide directions to strengthen India’s response to the growing menace of “digital arrest” scams, directing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on mule accounts within four weeks and asking all states and Union Territories to operationalise cyber fraud grievance redressal and money restoration mechanisms.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana Pasad passed the directions after considering the fourth status report submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The report detailed steps taken by ministries, regulators, investigating agencies, telecom service providers and intermediaries in compliance with the court’s earlier orders.
The apex court also directed the Centre’s Inter-Departmental Committee to examine a shared liability and victim compensation framework for those affected by digital arrest scams. States and Union Territories have been asked to notify and operationalise State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres within four weeks and adopt the e-Zero FIR mechanism in consultation with I4C.
The Bench directed the RBI to circulate its SOP for dealing with mule accounts and accounts linked to money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud within four weeks, and to provide copies to the Registrars General of all High Courts.
The Registrars General have also been instructed to bring the cyber fraud grievance redressal mechanism to the notice of courts and adjudicating authorities handling cases involving frozen bank accounts. The court clarified that while affected persons should ordinarily use the grievance mechanism first, doing so would not prevent them from pursuing constitutional or statutory remedies.
Emphasising speedy disposal of cases relating to freezing of bank accounts in cyber fraud matters, the Supreme Court also recommended that State Legal Services Authorities launch public awareness campaigns on digital arrest scams, cybercrime prevention and available mechanisms for recovery of defrauded money.
Taking note of progress made so far, the court observed that complaints related to digital arrest scams on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal had declined from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and further to 16,377 up to June 30, 2026. It also noted a substantial reduction in reported financial losses.
While describing the trend as encouraging, the Bench stressed that sustained monitoring, wider adoption of existing mechanisms and faster implementation remained essential.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 16.
The proceedings stem from the Supreme Court’s suo motu intervention after a senior citizen couple informed the court that they had lost their life savings in a digital arrest scam.
Earlier, on December 1, 2025, the apex court had entrusted the investigation of digital arrest scams to the CBI, directed telecom service providers and intermediaries to cooperate with investigations, asked states to facilitate pan-India probes, and sought measures to prevent misuse of mule bank accounts and SIM cards.
Subsequently, on February 9, 2026, the court directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to implement a uniform SOP for grievance redressal and restoration of defrauded funds, asked the RBI to finalise an SOP on temporary debit holds for suspicious accounts, and called for the development of a victim compensation framework.
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