Petition filed in SC for expert committee to examine ways to control cyber frauds

New Delhi [India] October 5 (ANI): A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking direction to constitute an expert committee under the supervision of the sitting or retired judge of the apex court to examine the possibility of various ways to control the cyber frauds.

The petition filed by advocate Pradeep Kumar Yadav cited various incidents where judges became victims of cybercrime.

The petition cited a news report where retired Chief Justice of India RM Lodha in 2019 became a victim of cybercrime when he was duped of Rs 1 lakh when he revived emails from the account of another retired Supreme Court judge seeking “emergency funds.”

Another incident cited in the petition was when a scammer posing as Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, wrote that he had an important meeting at the Collegium but was stuck in Connaught Place and needed Rs 500 and promised to return the money.

The petition stated another incident that came to light earlier this month when a cybercrime gang posed as officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation and staged a fake virtual courtroom, documents closely resembling original ones and with one of them impersonating CJI DY Chandrachud, duped Vardhman Group head SP Oswal of Rs 7 crore.

The petition further stated that in 2023 Ramesh Devkinandan Dhanuka, retired chief justice of the Bombay High Court, had lodged an FIR with the Colaba police saying an unidentified person sent him a message asking to update his pan card details, and when he opened the link and submitted the pan card details, Rs 49,998 was syphoned off from his bank account.

In 2023, another cyber fraud came to light for misusing the identity of Karnataka High Court judge Justice G Narendra.

The petitioner said he was about to fall prey to cyber frauds as he received calls from various mobile numbers and fraudsters sent him OTPs. On August 16, 2024, a criminal complaint was registered at the Tilak Marg police station in this regard.

The petition sought a proper mechanism to address the legal gaps and the concerns that abound as cybercrime rises unabated in India.

The PIL said, “In today’s interconnected digital landscape, the prevalence of cybercrime has reached unprecedented levels, posing significant threats to individuals, businesses and nations alike. As technology advances, so do the tactics employed by the cybercriminals, ranging from sophisticated hacking and ransomware attacks to identify theft and online fraud.”

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there was a notable rise in cybercrime cases from 21,796 incidents in 2017 to 27,248 in 2018. In response to this trend, the NCRB began categorising crimes against women and children separately starting in 2017, stated the plea.

“There needs to be an we have a legal framework in the name of Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, which needs to be strengthened by expanding the definitions of cybercrimes and enhancing the legal framework for cybersecurity. This should hold intermediaries responsible for content and data hosted on their platforms, compelling them to adhere to stringent data protection measures,” the petition said.

The central government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, are made party in the petition.