The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the rising menace of “digital arrest” scams in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officers to extort money, often from senior citizens.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi acted on a complaint from a senior citizen couple defrauded of ₹1.5 crore between September 3 and 16, 2025, after being threatened with arrest through video calls and shown forged Supreme Court orders.
The Court observed that such forgery of judicial documents and misuse of the Supreme Court’s name and seal strike “at the very foundation of public trust in the judicial system” and cannot be treated as ordinary cheating or cybercrime.
Finding the issue of national concern, the Bench issued notices to the Union Home Ministry, CBI, Principal Secretary (Home), and SP, Cyber Crime, Ambala, and requested the Attorney General’s assistance.