Deal with digital arrest cases with an ‘iron hand’: SC

The Supreme Court said on Monday that digital arrest frauds need to be dealt with an “iron hand” after it was informed by the Centre that Indian citizens have been duped of an estimated ₹3,000 crore in such cases.

- Abraham Thomas

A bench headed by justice Surya Kant said, “If we ignore this problem or cow down now and don't pass stringent orders, the problem will magnify. We are determined to deal with this problem with an iron hand.”

The observations by the court came after it went through a sealed cover report submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in suo motu proceedings taken on a letter received by the top court from an elderly couple in Ambala who were robbed of over ₹1 crore through a digital arrest executed by people posing as law enforcement officers.

Realising the importance of the issue, the court appointed senior advocate NS Nappinai as amicus curiae and posted the matter for hearing on Monday.