SC tells CBI to probe all digital arrest cases

The Supreme Court ‘on Monday granted sweeping powers to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe digital arrest scam cases across the country, directing states and Union territories to grant sanction to the federal agency for probing such cases in their jurisdiction.

- Abraham Thomas

The court further allowed CBI to initiate action against complicit bank staff and get relevant information from social media intermediaries and telecom operators to net the culprits involved in the scam.

Abench of Chief Justice of India (CII) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also sought the response of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on implementing artificial intelligence (Al) or machine learning technology to identify and freeze bank accounts used by cyber criminals.

“The digital arrest scam undoubtedly requires immediate attention of the premier investigation agency and therefore we proceed further with a clear direction that CBI shall investigate cases reported as Digital Arrest scam,” the bench said in its order.

The directions, which came ina ‘suo motu proceeding initiated by the apex court on October 17, cleared the path for CBI to undertake a comprehensive probe by removingall possible roadblocks, legal and administrative.