The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a writ petition filed by an alleged cyber fraud accused seeking consolidation of multiple criminal cases and protection from arrest, observing that cyber criminals who defrauded innocent citizens were “parasites,” who posed a serious threat to society and must be dealt with firmly under the law.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana dismissed the petition at the threshold and declined to grant any relief to petitioner Manoj Kumar Singh, who is facing multiple criminal proceedings relating to cyber fraud in different States, including Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir.
During the hearing, the Court expressed strong disapproval of the modus operandi adopted by cyber fraudsters and described such offenders as “parasites,” who preyed on unsuspecting investors and citizens through organised and sophisticated criminal networks. The Bench remarked that cyber crimes were often pan-India in nature, with offenders operating across multiple jurisdictions in an attempt to evade detection and prosecution.
The Court observed that persons involved in such activities frequently cheat victims in one State and then shift their operations to another location to avoid law enforcement action. Referring to the nature of the allegations against the petitioner, the Bench observed that cyber fraud accused are hardened criminals whose victims are spread across the country and reiterated that such “parasites” cause substantial financial loss to innocent citizens.
Singh had approached the Supreme Court seeking the clubbing of multiple FIRs and criminal proceedings pending against him in different States. He also sought bail and interim protection, contending that several cases had already been registered against him and that additional complaints could be be lodged in the future. The petitioner informed the Court that criminal cases had been registered against him by the Jammu Police and the Tirupur Police in Tamil Nadu in March this year.
Refusing to entertain the plea, the Supreme Court held that no ground was made out for exercising its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Bench dismissed the petition and granted liberty to the petitioner to avail appropriate remedies before the jurisdictional High Court.
The Court reiterated that society’s interest lies in ensuring effective action against cyber criminals and indicated that a stringent approach is necessary to curb the growing menace of online fraud and financial scams.
The observations were made against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s continuing scrutiny of large-scale cyber fraud operations, particularly digital arrest scams.
In November 2025, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had passed an extraordinary order restraining all courts from granting bail to certain accused persons involved in a digital arrest scam in which a 72-year-old advocate was allegedly defrauded of approximately Rs 3.29 crore. The Court had then observed that the circumstances warranted exceptional judicial intervention.
The Supreme Court has also been monitoring the larger issue of cyber fraud through suo motu proceedings initiated in October 2025. The proceedings were triggered by a complaint from a 73-year-old woman from Ambala, Haryana, who alleged that fraudsters impersonating law enforcement and judicial authorities had subjected her to a so-called digital arrest using forged Supreme Court orders and extorted more than Rs 1 crore from her.
Taking cognisance of the increasing incidence of such offences, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant in December 2025 directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to spearhead a nationwide investigation into digital arrest scams. The Court noted that such organised cyber-extortion rackets typically involve fraudsters impersonating police officers, investigating agencies or judicial authorities and coercing victims into transferring money under the threat of arrest or criminal prosecution.
To facilitate a coordinated investigation across jurisdictions, the Court also directed States, including Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Haryana, to grant consent for CBI investigations and ensure that probes were not hampered by territorial limitations or fragmented jurisdictional issues.
The suo motu proceedings remained pending before the Supreme Court, which continues to examine measures involving banks, telecom service providers, social media platforms and law enforcement agencies to strengthen cyber fraud prevention mechanisms, protect citizens from online scams and improve recovery of defrauded funds.
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