New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a suo motu matter on victims of digital arrest who are defrauded by using forged documents on October 27.
According to the apex court’s cause
list, the suo motu petition titled “In Re: victims of digital arrest related to forged documents” will come up for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on Monday.
While hearing the matter on October 17, the top court observed that, prima facie, a stern action on a pan-India basis with coordinated efforts between the Central and state police was required to unearth the full extent of the criminal enterprise involving forgery of judicial documents, cyber extortion and cyber arrest of innocent people, especially senior citizens.
It sought responses from the Centre, the CBI and others in the matter, saying such offences strike at the “very foundation” of public trust in the judicial system.
The top court had taken cognisance of a case of digital arrest of a senior citizen couple in Haryana’s Ambala on the basis of forged orders of the court and probe agencies by fraudsters to extort Rs 1.05 crore.
“We are, however, aghast at the fact that the fraudsters fabricated judicial orders in the name of the Supreme Court of India and various other documents,” the bench had said.
It also said that forgery of documents and brazen criminal misuse of the name, seal, and judicial authority of the apex court or a high court was a matter of grave concern.
Fabrication of judicial orders bearing forged signatures of judges strikes at the very foundation of public trust in the judicial system, besides the rule of law, the bench said.
“Such acts constitute a direct assault on the dignity and majesty of this institution; therefore, such grave criminal acts cannot be treated as ordinary or routine offences of cheating or cybercrime,” it observed.
The apex court also requested Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist it in the matter.
It had flagged the rising number of digital arrest cases across the country and sought responses of the Centre, the CBI and others in the suo motu case after a 73-year-old woman wrote to the Chief Justice of India, B R Gavai, on September 21, informing about the incident of defrauding the couple using court orders.
The bench directed the Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime, Ambala, to file a status report on the probe conducted in the case of the senior citizen couple so far.
The matter was brought to the court’s notice by the complainant woman, who alleged that scamsters produced a forged court order with a stamp and a seal for arrest and surveillance of the couple between September 3 and 16 to defraud more than Rs 1 crore through multiple bank transactions.
The woman said the court orders were shown through multiple audio and video calls by people impersonating as CBI, ED and judicial officers to arrest them. The top court was informed that two FIRs were lodged with the cyber crime department in Ambala under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitya. PTI ABA ARI
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