The Supreme Court has issued guidelines to deal with the menace of cyber fraud. It directed the RBI to formulate SOP for dealing with illegal accounts in a period of four weeks.
It is required that the RBI formulates an SOP in relation to the banking accounts (mule accounts), which are used for carrying out the act of cyber fraud. The court issued certain directions on Tuesday regarding the ways and means of prevention, investigation, and resolution of the cases involving the growing problem of cyber fraud.
In particular, the court directed the RBI to adopt an SOP for banks, establish an effective mechanism for complaints and reimbursement, and assign the job to an inter-departmental committee for working out the mechanism of shared responsibility and compensation to the victims.
Such directions were issued by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana in the suo motu case concerning the digital arrest. The directions were based on the status report of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (IFORC).
The report detailed the steps taken by various ministries, regulators, investigative agencies, banks, and intermediaries in compliance with the court's previous interim orders of December 10, 2025, and February 9, 2026. The court noted that the latest status report demonstrates encouraging progress in addressing digital arrest.
According to the report, the number of complaints related to digital arrest cyber frauds received on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) decreased from 123,672 in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and further declined to 16,377 by June 30, 2026. The amount of losses from such frauds has also decreased significantly. However, the bench observed that continuous monitoring of this issue is necessary.
The court also noted that the CBI has registered 10 digital arrest cases and several other related cases. During the investigation, the CBI identified 238 victims, traced 67 first-level bank accounts, uncovered transactions worth approximately ₹80 crore, and conducted searches at 93 locations in 16 states.
The court also noted the recommendation of the inter-departmental committee that the CBI should consider reducing the current ₹10 crore threshold for taking over digital arrest cases and consider grouping cases involving the same organized network together to meet this threshold.
The court directed the RBI to prepare and disseminate a SOP for dealing with money laundering and cyber fraud related accounts and illegal accounts within four weeks. This SOP is also to be made available to the Registrar General of each High Court.
The Court directed all states, union territories, and law enforcement agencies to expeditiously implement (1) the Grievance Redressal Module and (2) the Fund Recovery Module. The Court directed states to create public awareness about digital arrest scams and the mechanisms in place for reporting and addressing them.
(3) The Registrar Generals of all High Courts were directed to inform courts and adjudicating authorities dealing with bank account freezing in cyber fraud cases about these grievance redressal mechanisms. This was done to encourage affected individuals to utilize them before resorting to other legal remedies, without prejudice to their statutory or constitutional rights.
The Court further directed states that have not yet notified State Cyber Crime Coordination Centers to do so within four weeks and adopt the e-Zero FIR mechanism in consultation with ICFOR. The Court also directed authorities to ensure expeditious disposal of bank account freezing cases arising from cyber-based financial fraud.
The Inter-Departmental Committee will consult with banks and intermediaries on technical measures that can be adopted to (1) prevent digital arrest scams, (2) assist in the recovery of defrauded amounts, (3) facilitate investigation of digital arrest cases, and (4) ensure cooperation and compliance with all applicable statutory obligations and legal requirements.
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