The Supreme Court asked if the assets of those under investigation should be seized if a prima facie offence was made out against them. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court asked on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) whether digital arrest and related cyber crimes should be made a “standalone offence” and assets of people running these scams seized.
“Do we need to formally define digital arrest or related cyber crimes in the penal law? There are ingredients of robbery, extortion, dacoity… everything is there. Do you need it to define it as a standalone offence?” Chief Justice Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, asked Attorney-General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Union government.
Mr. Venkataramani said the offences were already covered in the existing penal laws.
The court went further to ask if the assets of those under investigation should be seized if a prima facie offence was made out against them.
The Chief Justice had previously flagged digital arrest scams as the “most disturbing” among cybercrimes, which not only result in “financial loss” to victims but also a “blistering sense of violation”. The CJI had said cybercrimes like digital arrests must not be seen as mere economic offences, but an offence against human dignity.
Records submitted by the Home Ministry in the court in April showed over 2.41 lakh complaints related to digital arrest scams alone.
The court had suo motu taken cognisance of digital arrests scams in January this year, saying that victims were psychologically coerced by fraudsters dressed up convincingly as police officers and judicial officers to cough up huge sums of their savings to avert fictional arrests or punitive action.
Published – July 28, 2026 11:08 pm IST
