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The country’s Supreme Court has now taken a very tough stance on the rapidly increasing cases of cyber fraud and online cheating across the country. During a crucial hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to develop and disseminate a standard operating procedure (SOP) as soon as possible to strictly deal with cyber frauds committed through “fake accounts” and other bank accounts.

Here, “fake accounts” refer to bank accounts used by cybercriminals to transfer money they have stolen through fraud. The Supreme Court took this significant step by taking suo motu cognizance of the “fake documents to digital arrest” case.

Strict instructions were also given to the states and police administration

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan has issued several important directions aimed at further strengthening the entire mechanism to deal with cyber financial frauds.

The court has directed all the states, union territories and all the law enforcement agencies of the country to implement the module for immediate redressal of complaints to cyber fraud and recovery of money lost in fraud without any delay, so that the common citizens who are affected can get relief as soon as possible.

Common people are being made victims of digital arrest

In a new and dangerous method of “digital arrest,” cyber criminals pose as officers from the police, CBI, or other major investigative agencies and threaten unsuspecting individuals online via video calls. They create an atmosphere as if the person has been “arrested,” and then attempt to extort large sums of money from them.

In view of this serious problem, the bench also directed the RBI to provide copies of the SOPs developed in this regard to the Registrars General of all High Courts in the country. Additionally, all states and union territories have been asked to launch large-scale public awareness campaigns to ensure that citizens are fully informed about the available fraud prevention measures. Furthermore, the Registrars General of all High Courts have been directed to inform the lower courts about these new fraud methods so that victims can access prompt legal redress.

Complete information about complaints will have to be given state-wise and bank-wise

To ensure administrative accountability, the court has requested from the relevant authorities a complete state-wise and bank-wise breakdown of the registration and disposal of cyber fraud complaints. The Supreme Court also issued clear instructions that cases involving bank accounts frozen due to suspicions arising from cyber fraud investigations should be resolved expeditiously to avoid unnecessary inconvenience to the public.

Apart from this, the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) constituted by the Central Government has been entrusted with the responsibility to work with banks and financial intermediaries to suggest effective measures to prevent serious fraud cases like ‘digital arrest’ and recover the money of the victims.