The Supreme Court on Monday emphasised that the government must educate, compensate and protect vulnerable persons who lose their savings to cyber scams, particularly elderly citizens. The observations came while granting bail to an accused alleged to have created and sold mule bank accounts used for routing proceeds of online fraud.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said awareness was the most effective safeguard against such crimes and directed the authorities to disseminate information on the modus operandi of cyber fraudsters through television, radio and other public platforms.
Addressing Additional Solicitor General S D Sanjay, Justice Nagarathna said the State must actively inform citizens about how cyber criminals operate and ensure legal and cyber-security education for the public.
The bench observed that scammers largely target elderly persons and vulnerable individuals, including single women and senior couples, who may not be familiar with digital fraud techniques.
“You must educate the people… Play out the recordings on TV and radio on how these cyber criminals conduct themselves… Awareness is the key,” the court said, adding that many victims have lost “not lakhs but crores of hard-earned money.”
The court also underlined the need to boost victims’ confidence through training and support mechanisms and said the government should consider compensatory measures for those defrauded.
The ASG informed the bench about the Centre’s Sanchar Saathi platform, which enables citizens to report cybercrime, stolen mobile phones and identity theft.
The bench granted bail to Paramjit Kharb, who has been in custody since March 17, 2024, noting that several co-accused had already been released on bail and that charges were yet to be framed. The court also recorded that 26 witnesses are proposed to be examined, indicating that the trial would take time.
Kharb had challenged a November 3, 2025 order of the Delhi High Court rejecting his bail plea.
According to the prosecution, he was involved in creating mule bank accounts and selling them to cyber criminals for parking money obtained through online scams. He was booked by the Delhi Police Special Cell under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
The ASG opposed bail, contending that Kharb was allegedly part of a larger cyber-crime network, faced cases in multiple states and had not disclosed his criminal antecedents. It was argued that his release could hamper ongoing investigations.
The defence relied on the principle of parity, pointing out that five of the nine co-accused were already on regular bail and that the accused had undergone prolonged incarceration.
Granting relief, the court directed Kharb to:
- deposit his passport, if any, before the trial court
- report to the jurisdictional police station on the first Monday of every month
- cooperate fully with the trial
- refrain from influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence
The bench warned that any violation would lead to cancellation of bail.
The observations were made against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s ongoing suo motu proceedings on “digital arrest” frauds, triggered by a letter from an elderly couple in Haryana who were duped by cyber criminals impersonating law-enforcement officials.
Earlier, the court directed the CBI to investigate digital-arrest cases nationwide and asked the Centre to frame a standard operating procedure in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, banks and the Department of Telecommunications.
On February 9, the court had described the siphoning of over ₹54,000 crore by cyber fraudsters as “robbery or dacoity” and called for coordinated institutional measures to curb the menace.
Digital arrest scams typically involve fraudsters posing as police, court officials or government agents, using audio and video calls to intimidate victims and coerce them into transferring money.
