Digital arrests: SC halts release of men who ‘duped’ 73-year old woman Advocate-on-Record

The Supreme Court on Monday restrained courts from releasing from jail men accused of duping a 73-year-old woman advocate through ‘digital arrest’ fraud, saying such cases warranted “unusual orders”.

“We have to deal with these cases sternly so that the right message is sent. An unusual phenomenon needs unusual intervention,” a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said.

The order came after the Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCAORA) president Vipin Nair told the Bench that the elderly woman lawyer lost her life savings and the accused men arrested following the registration of the FIR in May this year were about to be released on statutory bail as the police did not file the charge-sheet within the statutory 90-day period.

Taking note of Nair’s submissions, the Bench ordered, “Meanwhile, the suspect Vijay Khanna and other co-accused shall not be released by any court. They can approach this court for any relief.”

“We are not against anyone’s life and liberty but this case warrants unusual orders. We have to deal with these cases sternly so that the right message is sent. An unusual phenomenon needs an unusual intervention,” Justice Kant said.

The top court also allowed an intervention application filed by SCAORA which took up the case of the woman lawyer.

Nair said the police have recovered over Rs 42 lakh from the accused but the case showed procedural vacuum and investigative paralysis surrounding such crimes, as despite the magistrate directing the money be deposited in the victim’s bank account, the bank was refusing to accept it.

The Bench said that pan-guidelines will soon be coming up, which will be an eye-opener for many agencies. “Just wait for the next date of hearing,” the Bench said, posting the matter for further hearing on November 24.

As Nair said cyber criminals were targeting unsuspecting elderly people and taking away their life savings, Justice Kant said, “Don’t worry, we will do something. Some directions are needed.”

The Bench said amicus curiae NS Nappinai will be soon asked to give an advertisement across India asking people to get in touch with her about such cyber crimes so that the exact magnitude of the crime could be ascertained.

The Bench also asked Solicitor General Tushar Meha to find out if India has ratified the United Nations treaty on cybercrime which would help it in tracing these criminals across borders.

Expressing shock over the scale of digital arrest cases in which cyber criminals allegedly extort over Rs 3,000 crore from victims, including senior citizens, in India, the Supreme Court on November 3 asserted that it will deal with such cases with an iron hand.

Maintaining that it would not hesitate in issuing strong directives, if necessary, the Bench warned that unchecked digital frauds could erode public confidence in digital governance and law enforcement systems.

On October 27, the Supreme Court had asked all states and union territories to furnish details of digital arrest cases registered by them to probe such scams carried out through forged court orders and impersonation of police and judicial officers.

Taking note of the magnitude and pan-India spread of such crimes, it had hinted at a CBI probe into the matter.

The Bench had taken suo motu cognisance of a shocking case of digital arrest of an elderly couple in Ambala, Haryana, on the basis of forged orders of the top court and probe agencies by fraudsters to extort more than Rs. 1.05 crore. It had requested Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist it in the matter.