SRINAGAR: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has established a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) to tackle the growing incidence of “digital arrests” and enhance real-time protection for cybercrime victims, the ministry informed the Supreme Court on Monday.
The move follows directions issued by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant on December 16, 2025, which called for inter-ministerial consultations under Attorney General R Venkataramani and consideration of the Amicus Curiae’s recommendations alongside earlier court directives from December 1, 2025.
The IDC, chaired by the Special Secretary (Internal Security), comprises joint secretary-level officials from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of External Affairs, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. Its mandate includes identifying legislative gaps, recommending corrective measures, and ensuring timely compliance across banking and telecom sectors.
As part of the multi-agency effort, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over a high-profile Delhi fraud case in which a 76-year-old widow was allegedly duped of Rs 1.64 crore by impersonators using fake documents. Authorities noted that such scams are conducted by organised transnational cybercrime syndicates, with INTERPOL channels being used to trace overseas modules.
The DoT highlighted progress in curbing spoofed calls, reporting that around 1.35 crore calls were blocked via the Central International Out Roamer mechanism in October 2024, reducing the current volume to 1.5 lakh. New rules under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, are being finalised to regulate SIM issuance, enforce the nine-SIM limit per individual, and control SIM boxes exploited by criminals.
On the banking side, the RBI informed the IDC that 23 banks have deployed “MuleHunter AI” to detect accounts used for laundering stolen funds. Discussions also include implementing mandatory “cooling-off” periods for suspicious transactions, proactively freezing defrauded funds under Section 12AA of the PMLA, and standardising procedures for closing dormant accounts.
Senior advocate NS Nappinai, serving as Amicus Curiae, proposed reforms to expedite victim relief, including releasing frozen proceeds based on online complaints and indemnity bonds without formal FIRs, and recommended that messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram restrict video calls from unknown numbers to prevent prolonged coercion.
The MHA has requested a one-month extension from the Supreme Court to consolidate inputs from all stakeholders, with the IDC next focusing on strengthening the adjudication mechanism under Section 46 of the IT Act and finalising a national online cybercrime adjudication portal.
“In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to grant a period of at least one month to enable the respondents to obtain inputs from the remaining members of the Inter-Departmental Committee and to undertake further deliberations, so as to place a consolidated and considered outcome before this Court,” the MHA stated.
