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Supreme Court Orders Pan-India CBI Probe Into ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams

The directive centralises enforcement, compelling cooperation from banks, telecoms and online platforms.

Overview

  • All states and Union Territories are directed to grant consent and transfer digital-arrest FIRs so the CBI can conduct a unified investigation.
  • The CBI is empowered to probe bank officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act for facilitating mule accounts used in the fraud.
  • The court issued notice to the RBI to explain the lack of AI and machine-learning tools to flag and freeze scam-linked accounts and to outline deployment timelines.
  • The Department of Telecommunications must propose steps to curb multiple SIM issuance, while telecom operators and IT intermediaries must preserve and share case data with investigators.
  • The CBI may seek Interpol assistance and, along with state police, freeze suspect accounts, with the court noting losses near ₹3,000 crore that have heavily affected senior citizens.