Supreme Court Directs RBI to Frame SOP to Curb ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued 13 interim directions to strengthen efforts against “digital arrest” scams, directing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for handling mule accounts and cyber-fraud accounts within four weeks.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant also ordered states, Union Territories and law-enforcement agencies to swiftly adopt the grievance redressal and money restoration modules under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ January 2, 2026 SOP. Authorities were asked to conduct awareness campaigns and ensure that courts dealing with frozen bank accounts are informed about the available mechanisms.

The court directed the remaining states to establish and operationalise State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres within four weeks and take steps to implement the e-Zero FIR system in consultation with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

The next status report must include state-wise and bank-wise data on complaints received and resolved, restoration orders issued and completed, and the money returned to victims.

The Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) was asked to examine technology-based measures to prevent scams, improve investigations and facilitate the recovery of defrauded funds. It will also consider proposals on shared liability, victim compensation and reducing the CBI’s ₹10-crore threshold for taking up cybercrime cases.

The court noted a decline in complaints, from 1.23 lakh in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025 and 16,377 until June 2026. It also recorded a fall in the amount lost to such frauds.

The CBI is investigating 10 digital arrest cases. One network involved 238 victims, 67 bank accounts and transactions worth ₹80 crore. The matter will next be heard on September 16, 2026.