No Provision For Law Enforcement To Conduct Arrests Via Video Calls: Rajasthan HC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of 'Digital Arrest Scams'

Terming “Digital Arrest scams” as one of the most insidious forms of cybercrime, Rajasthan High Court took suo motu cognizance of the increasing trend of cybercrimes in India including digital arrest, directing the State and Central Government to submit a report on the steps being taken to curb the offence.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand opined that it was high time to spread awareness about digital arrests having no legal standing under the Indian laws as well as to educate people about the lawful process of arrests in India as well as the rights associated with it. The Court further observed that the RBI along with the Government was also required to develop a mechanism to stop payment transfer of money in such trap transactions. “It is right time and high time to spread a public campaign through print, electronic, social media, television and FM Radio every hour and every day to make the public at large aware that there is no provision for law enforcement to conduct 'arrest is via video calls or online monitoring'. If the public receive such calls, it is a clear scam. In fact, the recently enacted new criminal law does not provide for any legal provisions of conducting digital arrest.”The Court took notice of the several news reports reflecting the increase in cyber crimes and offences like digital arrests all over the world owing to which huge number of people lost their hard-earned money and also their lives. While opining digital arrests as one of the most insidious forms of cyber crimes in the age of rapid digital evolution, the Court explained digital arrest as, “'Digital arrest' is a new and innovative tactic employed by scammers/cybercriminals to defraud gullible victims and extort money. The modus operandi in this cybercrime method is that fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials such as Police, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, etc. and manipulate them into believing that they have committed some serious crime…Under the duress of threats and intimidation, victims are frequently coerced into paying huge amount of money to evade severe consequences such as arrest or incarceration.”The Court pointed out various different forms of international responses undertaken by countries worldwide to digital arrest scams including legislative and regulatory measures by Australia; public awareness campaigns by the USA; AI driven technological solutions by Singapore; reporting platforms in Canada, and international cooperation by organisations like INTERPOL and EUROPOL. The Court also perused steps taken by the Government in India to curb such cyber crimes like empowering the law enforcement agencies to tackle investigation in such crimes; conducting workshops; opening helpline numbers for support as well as reporting grievances; setting up forensic labs for cyber crime related evidence; creating awareness, etc. Appreciating these efforts as a promising trajectory towards reducing the prevalence and impact of digital arrest scams, the Court observed that in order to curb the dangerous situation, more serious steps were required by all the stakeholders. It held that it was important to note that digital arrest had no legal standing in India. The Court elaborated some important provision from the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, on arrest that people must be made aware of. “The Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) for the summons to be served electronically under Section 63. The section defines the form of summons. It states that every summons served electronically shall be encrypted and bear the image and seal of the Court and digital signature. The people must be made aware of the fact that as per Sections 35 & 36 of BNSS, due process at the time of arrest has to be followed. The police officer carrying on the arrest has to be accurate visible and clear identification and prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest, which is required to be attested at least by one witness and signed by the person being arrested.”The Court also opined that steps were also required at the level of the RBI as well as the Government to stop payment to fraudulent persons. Accordingly, the suo moto cognizance was taken, registered as, “Suo Motu : In the matter of tackling the issue of 'Digital Arrest Scams', Cyber Crimes and saving the innocent people from loosing their money and lives.”Central as well as the Rajasthan State Government were directed to submit reports on steps taken to curb the situation. Title: Suo Motu : In the matter of tackling the issue of 'Digital Arrest Scams', Cyber Crimes and saving the innocent people from loosing their money and livesClick Here To Read/Download Order

No Provision For Law Enforcement To Conduct Arrests Via Video Calls: Rajasthan HC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of 'Digital Arrest Scams'

Nupur Agrawal

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