The Uttarakhand High Court has taken a serious view of the rising menace of digital arrest frauds and on Thursday has sought responses from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), telecom companies through the Union Ministry of Communications, and private banks operating in the state. The court has directed them to submit written replies within three weeks.
Our correspondent reports, a bench of Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay issued the order while hearing a petition that it converted into a Public Interest Litigation. The plea was filed by Surendra Kumar, a resident of Haridwar, who alleged that cybercriminals attempted to extort ₹30,000 from him using a fake non-bailable warrant. According to the complaint, he was shown a forged court order, pressured through threatening calls, and sent multiple QR codes to transfer money.
Police officials informed the court that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with such cybercrimes has already been issued. The court, however, directed that the SOP must be circulated to all police stations in the state and stressed the need for immediate public awareness campaigns to protect citizens from fake calls and messages.
The petitioner also submitted that despite lodging a formal complaint and handing over call recordings and transaction details to police officers, no effective action was taken. The court expressed concern over this inaction and underlined the need to establish technical accountability in such cases, our correspondent further adds.
