Supreme Court seeks faster grievance redressal, zero FIRs and timely restoration of defrauded funds
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday passed a detailed order directing the Centre, States, Reserve Bank of India and telecom authorities to prepare Standard Operating Procedures to curb ‘digital arrests’ scams and operationalise mechanisms to hear the grievances of victims, initiate criminal action through zero FIRs against cyber fraudsters, and return the monetary losses of those defrauded in a timebound manner.
The court referred to a status report submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, which said the complaints against digital arrests have substantially reduced from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and has further reduced to 16,377 for the period ending June 30, 2026.
However, the court said it was essential to monitor the situation.
Recovery Drive
“As per the fourth status report, a data-sharing MoU between the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and I4C was executed on May 11, 2026. The grievance redressal mechanism portal now covers 1,23,590 branches of 69 banks. Additionally, the Money Restoration Mechanism Portal has 57 participating banks and covers all 36 States and Union Territories, with restoration completed in 36,290 cases, involving an aggregate amount of ₹18.05 crore,” the court noted.
The court said the e-Zero FIR mechanism was functional in 19 States, while only 14 States had notified their State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres. Similarly, the Telecommunications (Radio Equipment Possession Authorisation) Rules, 2025, have been notified, while the Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules, 2025, were at the final stage of notification.
“So far, as investigation by the CBI is concerned, the report reveals that the agency has presently registered 10 digital arrest cases and several connected cases. In one investigation, it identified 238 victims, 67 first-layer bank accounts, transactions of approximately ₹80 crore, and conducted searches at 93 locations across 16 States,” the court said.
The Bench recorded the suggestion voiced by the Inter-Departmental Committee that the CBI take up cases in which the sums defrauded were lower than the ₹10 crore threshold.
Banking Reforms
The court directed the RBI to prepare and circulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with mule accounts and those linked to money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud.
The States and Union Territories have been asked to frame modules for grievance redressal and money restoration as per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ SOP concerning the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and Cyber RMS, dated 2 January 2026.
The court said the next status report would include State-wise and bank-wise details of data grievances registered and disposed of, summary restoration orders issued, summary restorations completed, and the amounts restored.
States have been asked to notify Cyber Crime Coordination Centres and e-Zero FIRs within four weeks. The court said cases dealing with freezing of bank accounts arising out of cyber-enabled financial frauds ought to be dealt with expeditiously.
Published on August 4, 2026
