3 min readNew DelhiApr 20, 2026 02:43 PM IST
The Supreme Court said Monday that it was “shocking” that many victims of digital arrest cases are well-educated individuals. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made the remark while presiding over a two-judge bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, during a hearing on a suo motu case related to the rising number of such digital arrest scams.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, who is assisting the court in the matter, pointed out that inter-departmental meetings are being held to develop a strategy to tackle the issue of digital arrests and sought more time to file a status report. “We are moving very fast,” Venkataramani informed the bench.
CJI Kant shared a recent incident of digital arrest involving an elderly woman known to him in an official capacity. “Unfortunately, she was duped out of her entire retirement benefit. She was crying, she lost all her savings,” CJI Kant said.
Venkataramani said the matter could also be referred to an agency already investigating similar cases.
Senior Advocate N S Nappinai, who is the amicus curiae in the matter, said that despite the court taking suo motu cognisance, new cases continue to emerge frequently. “Every second day, there is a report of digital arrest cases coming up,” she said.
CJI Kant reiterated his concern and said, “It is shocking that mostly well-educated people are falling for these scams.”
Nappinai suggested that intermediaries could introduce a “kill switch” to help prevent such fraud.
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“If that is not included, then whatever awareness programme that the government is taking is mostly falling on deaf ears because at that stage, when the communication comes from that criminal posing as a police or government official, victims just freeze. Even though they have heard about digital arrest, etc, they are still not able to react,” Nappinai said.
She added that a kill switch would at least ensure a limited window to stop transactions, even if a person initially falls victim. “So if that can be expedited,” the counsel submitted.
Venkataramani said the intermediary issue is certainly in focus and added that he will push it aggressively.
The SC will now hear the matter on May 12.
The top court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue of digital arrests in October last year following a complaint, and later asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate all such cases.
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The proposed “kill switch,” currently under review by a government-formed inter-departmental committee established in late December 2025, would include an emergency feature in payment apps. This feature would allow users to instantly freeze banking transactions if they suspect fraud.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
