India
Supreme Court keeps 35 cyber fraud cases in 12 states
Victims keep local access as nationwide fraud investigations remain separate.
Victims keep local access as nationwide fraud investigations remain separate.
A company bank account allegedly helped a nationwide network steal ₹1.90 crore from an 81-year-old Kerala resident. The refused Gourab Kumar Saha and Nidhi Bhandari’s request to merge 35 criminal cases across 12 states. It said one case could disrupt inquiries and force victims to travel to Delhi for the accused’s convenience. The cases will continue where the alleged victims, transactions and evidence are located. The ruling concerns procedure, not guilt.
The court is also urging banks and police to respond more consistently to , including by temporarily blocking withdrawals and finding ways to return stolen money. It called these offences “” because of their organised nature. The wider inquiry found 238 victims, 67 and about ₹80 crore in transactions. The scale leaves unresolved questions about coordination, recovering money and who is responsible.
The petitioners ultimately withdrew the plea after the Court refused to provide a single forum for the 35 cases. The separate investigations and prosecutions therefore remained pending in the relevant states, and the ruling did not decide guilt, future coordination, or victim compensation.
The bench used the phrase “” while discussing and related cyber offences. Its criticism of using a company bank account to facilitate alleged fraud reflected the seriousness of the allegations, but it did not determine the petitioners’ guilt.
The bench declined to and said a merger could disrupt investigations being conducted in multiple states. It also warned that requiring victims to travel to Delhi would serve the convenience of the accused rather than the victims.
The two petitioners sought to combine more than 30 into a single proceeding. Their plea raised whether cases involving a connected alleged method and account network should be handled centrally or remain with the states where victims, transactions, and evidence arose.
One case involved an 81-year-old resident of who allegedly lost Rs 1.90 crore in a digital-arrest fraud. The alleged transfer trail became part of the evidence tying the petitioners’ account to a specific victim and state-level investigation.
The court declined a plea by Gourab Kumar Saha and Nidhi Bhandari to 35 cases pending across 12 states. Prosecutors alleged that their company bank account was used as a in digital-arrest and related cyber offences, while their counsel disputed the allegations.
A CBI status report described one digital-arrest investigation involving 238 victims and 67 . Investigators traced approximately Rs 80 crore and searched 93 locations across 16 states, showing how victim complaints connected to a wider account network.
The Court directed the RBI to prepare a standard operating procedure for banks handling and cyber-enabled fraud. The proposed system included , grievance redressal, and mechanisms to restore defrauded money to victims.
The Court began examining scams in which impersonators posed as police, court, or other officials, used video calls and threats of arrest, and forced victims to transfer money. It said the problem was not an isolated incident and required a coordinated institutional response.