CJI Surya Kant: Judiciary Responding To ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams Without Waiting For Parliament

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday said the Indian judiciary has proactively responded to emerging forms of economic crime, including digital arrest scams, instead of waiting for Parliament to enact new laws.

Speaking in London at the closing session of the 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime, Kant said India’s response to economic offences has evolved through a combination of legislation, institutions and judicial principles.

Referring to the growing digital arrest scam, in which fraudsters impersonate police officers, judges or government officials on video calls to extort money, the CJI said the Supreme Court had recently taken note of the problem and directed the Centre and states to assess its scale.

He said the court had also called for consideration of a separate offence for digital arrest scams, with penalties proportionate to the harm caused.

“This exemplifies a broader pattern: an Indian judiciary that proactively responds to emerging fraudulent schemes, rather than waiting for Parliament to address them,” Kant said.

‘Layered Architecture’ To Fight Economic Crime

Kant said India’s legal framework for tackling economic crime should not be viewed as being based on a single law, but as a “layered architecture” built over several decades.

He referred to key legislation including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, while stressing the role of investigative agencies and judicial doctrine in combating financial offences.

At the same time, the CJI acknowledged concerns over the functioning of these mechanisms, particularly allegations of misuse of the PMLA.

“Numerous individuals have alleged misuse of the PMLA process by investigating authorities, including claims of arrests made without articulated reasons, and of custody extended beyond what the existing facts appear to justify,” he said, adding that the judiciary had intervened where necessary.

Kant also referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling that grounds for arrest must be provided to an accused in writing rather than merely being read out.

Citing the court’s ruling in the Arvind Kejriwal versus CBI case, he said the judiciary had upheld the legality of the arrest while granting bail on the principle that prolonged pre-trial detention must not effectively become punishment.

He said due process, proportionality and the presumption of innocence remained central to the judiciary’s approach despite changing laws and technology.

Global Cooperation Key To Recovering Illicit Wealth

The CJI also stressed the importance of international cooperation in tackling economic crime, particularly in recovering assets moved across borders.

“India has learned through hard experience that Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties with other countries, however imperfect their machinery and modalities, bring a recovered asset home far more reliably than extradition ever does,” he said.

Kant said illicit wealth rarely remained in the country where it was generated and argued that stronger international cooperation was therefore essential.

He concluded by stressing that economic crime does not respect national borders and requires vigilance, cooperation and adherence to the rule of law.

The success of efforts to combat such crime, he said, would ultimately depend not on how effectively the problem was described, but on how seriously jurisdictions worked to address it.