Supreme Court seeks sops to tackle digital arrests and refunds
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre, states, RBI, and telecom authorities to set clear rules (SOPs) to fight digital scams, aka "digital arrests."
They want faster complaint systems, easy zero FIR filing for quick action, and speedy refunds for people who lose money.
The good news? Complaints against digital arrests have dropped sharply, from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 16,377 for the period ending June 30, 2026.
Portal links 1,23,590 branches, restores 18.05cr
A new portal now connects 1,23,590 branches of 69 banks to help victims get their money back: while ₹18.05 crore in 36,290 cases has already been restored through the Money Restoration Mechanism Portal.
But the court noticed not all states are keeping up: only 14 have special cybercrime centers and just 19 offer e-Zero FIRs.
The SC wants States and Union Territories to notify Cyber Crime Coordination Centres and e-Zero FIRs within four weeks and the RBI to crack down on shady "mule accounts" used for scams and prepare and circulate an SOP.