Supreme Court targets cyberfraud

The Supreme Court on Monday called for harsh and stringent action to deal with cyber frauds, particularly digital arrest scams, and said it will address the issue with an ‘iron hand’.

- TDG NETWORK

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi expressed shock after being informed that nearly Rs 3,000 crore has been extorted from people through such scams.

“It’s shocking that almost Rs 3,000 crore has been collected from the victims, and this is just in our country. If we don’t pass harsh and stringent orders, the problem will magnify. We will deal with this with iron hands,” remarked Justice Kant.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and CBI submitted a sealed cover report before the bench.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that a separate unit in the MHA was dealing with the issue, and several steps are being taken.

After a brief hearing, the apex court stated that appropriate directions would be passed and posted the matter for hearing on November 10.

Last week, the top court issued notices to all states and Union Territories regarding incidents of digital arrest scams across the country.