New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday indicated it may hand over the investigation of “digital arrest” cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing the scale and nationwide spread of the cybercrime. It also sought details of all First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in states and Union Territories relating to such cases.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to all states and UTs, directing them to submit information on pending “cyber arrest” investigations by November 3, 2025. “Meanwhile, let notice be issued to all states and Union Territories through their standing counsel, returnable on November 3, 2025. The states and Union Territories are directed to furnish details of the cases of cyber arrest pending investigation in their respective jurisdictions. In this regard, they need not file any formal counter affidavit,” the bench said.
Digital arrest refers to a growing form of cyber fraud where scamsters impersonate law enforcement or government officials, use doctored video or audio calls to intimidate victims, and coerce them into transferring money. The court’s intervention followed a shocking case in Ambala, Haryana, where a senior citizen couple was defrauded of Rs 1.05 crore through forged court and agency orders.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the CBI, informed the court that such crimes often originate from countries like Myanmar and Thailand. “It has been found that there are three pillars—financial, technical and human,” Mehta said, adding that victims are sometimes trafficked abroad under false promises of employment and then forced into cyber scams. “Once they reach there, their passport is taken away and they are told that a large amount of money has been spent on them and they must recover it by generating funds online.
They are treated as human slaves,” he told the bench.
Describing these areas as “scam compounds”, Mehta said they often operate from countries lacking extradition treaties with India. He submitted a note detailing CBI’s preliminary findings, which he said were “beyond expectations”, and sought additional directions from the court to strengthen the investigation.
Justice Kant observed that the magnitude of the problem required a coordinated response. “Seeing the volume of cases, we want to know whether the CBI has the human and technical resources to deal with all the cases if they are transferred,” he said. The bench also asked the agency to indicate whether it needed more personnel, including cyber experts outside the police force, to handle the investigations.
Justice Bagchi called it an “international issue”, pointing to the recent global crackdown on similar syndicates operating from Myanmar. “The question is whether the CBI will be able to handle the volume of such cases because it should not happen like in cases of Ponzi schemes, where later the probe agencies were seeking to offload the cases and the court had to step in,” he said.
The bench also referred to a recent United Nations treaty that facilitates intelligence sharing on cybercrimes, noting that agencies such as Interpol could assist in tracing the cross-border networks behind these operations.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, said that international money laundering networks were fuelling these scams. “There are money laundering networks behind these cybercrime scams based outside India,” he said.
The Haryana government’s counsel informed the court that the state had no objection to transferring two FIRs related to the Ambala case to the CBI but added that there were other similar cases that needed attention. The bench asked the state to submit details of these cases within a week so they could also be considered for transfer to the central agency.
The matter will be heard next on November 3.
The Supreme Court had earlier, on October 17, taken suo motu cognisance of the rising number of digital arrest scams. It noted that the forging of judicial orders, seals and signatures to extort money from citizens “strikes at the very foundation of public trust in the justice system.” The court had described the misuse of the apex court’s and high courts’ names as a matter of “grave concern”, stating that such offences could not be treated as ordinary cases of cheating or cybercrime.
The Ambala case that triggered the proceedings involved an elderly woman who complained that scamsters impersonating officials from the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and judiciary used forged court orders to intimidate her and her husband between September 3 and 16. Through multiple video calls, they allegedly extorted over Rs 1 crore via several bank transactions. Two FIRs have been registered by the Ambala Cyber Crime Branch under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The top court said it would continue to monitor the investigation, directing the CBI to prepare a comprehensive plan for handling the digital arrest cases and report back on whether it required additional resources. “We will monitor the progress of the CBI investigation and issue whatever directions are necessary,” the bench stated.