The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) passed a detailed order directing the Centre, States, the Reserve Bank of India and telecom authorities to prepare a standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb "digital arrests" scams and operationalise mechanisms to redress grievances of victims, initiate criminal action through zero FIRs against cyber fraudsters, and restore the monetary losses of those defrauded in a time-bound manner.
The court referred to a status report submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which said the complaints received on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal against digital arrests have sharply reduced from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and stood at 16,377 for the period ending June 30, 2026.
Does digital arrest need to be made a ‘standalone offence’: Supreme Court However, the court said though the statistics were “certainly encouraging”, it was still essential to monitor the situation.
“As per the fourth status report, a data-sharing MoU between the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and I4C was executed on May 11, 2026.
The grievance redressal mechanism portal now covers 1,23,590 branches of 69 banks.
Additionally, the Money Restoration Mechanism Portal has 57 participating banks and covers all 36 States and Union Territories, with restoration completed in 36,290 cases, involving an aggregate amount of ₹18.05 crore,” the court noted.
The court said the e-Zero FIR mechanism was functional in 19 States, while only 14 States had notified their State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres.
Similarly, the Telecommunications (Radio Equipment Possession Authorisation) Rules, 2025 had been notified, while the Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules, 2025 was at the final stage of notification.
“As far as the CBI’s investigation is concerned, the report reveals that the agency has presently registered 10 digital arrest cases and several connected cases.
In one investigation, it identified 238 victims, 67 first-layer bank accounts, transactions of approximately ₹80 crore, and conducted searches at 93 locations across 16 States,” the court said.
The Bench recorded that the Inter-Departmental Committee has requested the CBI to examine the feasibility of lowering the existing threshold of ₹ 10 crore, and take up cases involving the same organised network in which the cumulative fraud crossed that threshold.
75-year-old digital arrest victim moves HC for CBI probe; Delhi Police asked to file status report In a series of interim directions, the court directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare and circulate within four weeks a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for banks for placing temporary debit holds on mule accounts linked to money laundering activity and cyber-enabled fraud.
A copy of the SOP shall be furnished to the Registrars General of High Courts.
The States and Union Territories were directed to frame modules for grievance redressal and money restoration as per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ SOP concerning the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and Cyber RMS.
The court said the next status report would include State-wise and bank-wise details of data grievances registered and disposed of, summary restoration orders issued, summary restorations completed, and the amounts restored.
States have been asked to notify Cyber Crime Coordination Centres and operationalise e-Zero FIR mechanisms within four weeks.
The court also said cases involving freezing of bank accounts arising out of cyber-enabled financial frauds ought to be dealt with expeditiously.
