By Adv. K J Muhammed Aslam · Advocate, Ernakulam (Bar Council of Kerala)
There is no such thing as digital arrest in Indian law. Every call, video call, WhatsApp message or email that claims you are under digital arrest by the CBI, ED, police, customs, TRAI or a court — and demands money to avoid being arrested — is a single, well-documented scam: impersonation plus extortion carried out over a computer resource. The correct sections are Section 66C and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Sections 318, 319, 308 and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The Supreme Court has been monitoring digital arrest scams in a suo motu proceeding since October 2025 (Suo Motu Writ Crl. 3/2025, 17 Oct 2025, Surya Kant + Bagchi JJ.) and has repeatedly warned the public that no investigative agency conducts arrests over video calls.
What does a digital arrest scam actually look like?
The pattern is almost identical in every complaint, which is itself a clue that it is organised, not official:
- A call or WhatsApp call from a number claiming to be from a courier company, TRAI, bank or police, saying a parcel in your name contains drugs or your Aadhaar has been misused.
- The call is transferred to a person in police or CBI uniform on video, often with a fake backdrop of an office, who says an FIR or arrest warrant exists against you and you must stay on camera for verification.
- You are told not to disconnect, not to tell family, and to transfer money to designated accounts for verification or to avoid arrest — sometimes styled as a refundable security deposit or a penalty.
- The pressure lasts hours. Victims are kept on video while they arrange transfers, which is why the fraud succeeds even with educated complainants.
A genuine investigation never works this way. A summons is in writing, identifies the case number and officer, cites a specific legal provision, and gives you time to respond through counsel. It is never issued by a police officer on a personal mobile video call demanding an immediate UPI transfer.
Why is a WhatsApp or video-call notice not a real BNSS notice?
Investigating officers have two standard written tools under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023:
- Section 35 BNSS (formerly Section 41A CrPC) — notice of appearance where arrest is not required for offences punishable with up to seven years. It requires the officer to record reasons and serve the notice in the prescribed manner so the person can appear and cooperate.
- Section 94 BNSS (formerly Section 91 CrPC) — summons to produce a document or electronic record.
Both are served through the modes the Code prescribes and leave a paper trail in the case diary. In January 2025 the Supreme Court, applying the Satender Kumar Antil line of orders, clarified that a Section 35 notice cannot be served by WhatsApp, SMS or email alone — it must be served in the manner the Code contemplates. A PDF on WhatsApp bearing a police logo, or a video-call order to stay at home, has no legal status. If you receive one, treat it as evidence of the scam, not as a notice to be obeyed.
The same reasoning exposes the video arrest itself. No provision of the BNSS authorises an officer to keep a person under observation over a video call, to restrict them to a room, or to demand money over the phone. Detention without following the arrest procedure under Sections 43 to 60 BNSS and production before a magistrate within 24 hours under Article 22(2) of the Constitution is unlawful.
Which laws does a digital arrest scam violate?
A single digital arrest episode typically triggers both the IT Act and the BNS, because the call uses a computer resource and involves cheating and coercion:
| Act | Section | What it covers in a digital arrest | Maximum punishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT Act | Section 66C | Fraudulent use of another person’s identity feature — the scammer uses the name, logo or identity of CBI, ED or police | Up to 3 years and fine up to one lakh rupees |
| IT Act | Section 66D | Cheating by personation using a computer resource — pretending to be a public servant over phone or video | Up to 3 years and fine up to one lakh rupees |
| BNS | Section 318(4) (formerly Section 420 IPC) | Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property — the money transfer itself | Up to 7 years and fine |
| BNS | Section 319(2) (formerly Section 419 IPC) | Cheating by personation | Up to 5 years or fine or both |
| BNS | Section 308 (formerly Sections 384 to 389 IPC) | Extortion — putting a person in fear to deliver money — the digital arrest threat itself | Up to 7 years (up to 10 years where fear is of death or grievous hurt, Section 308(5), or of an accusation of an offence punishable with death, life or up to 10 years, Section 308(7)) |
| BNS | Section 351 (formerly Section 506 IPC) | Criminal intimidation — threat of arrest or harm | Up to 2 years, 7 years if threat of death or grievous hurt |
| BNS | Section 111 | Organised crime — where two or more persons as a syndicate engage in continuing unlawful activity (cognizable, 3+ years; more than one charge-sheet in ten years with cognizance taken) | Minimum 5 years to life and minimum ₹5 lakh fine; rarely fits an isolated scam alone |
Sections 66C and 66D are cognizable and attract investigation under Section 78 of the IT Act by an officer of Inspector rank or above. In Kerala that typically means the district Cyber Police Station.
What should you do during and immediately after the call?
The steps that protect both your money and your later complaint are counterintuitive — disconnecting feels rude when a uniform is on screen, but it is the correct legal response:
- End the call. Say nothing about your bank balances. Do not argue about jurisdiction or ask for proof — argument keeps you on the line, which is the scammer’s goal.
- Do not transfer money, share OTPs, install screen-sharing apps (AnyDesk, TeamViewer) or share Aadhaar, PAN or DigiLocker details. No agency collects a verification amount over UPI or asks for remote access to your phone.
- Preserve evidence immediately. Screenshot the caller ID, the video-call screen if you can without re-engaging, the UPI IDs or account numbers mentioned, and the chat. Note times. Do not delete anything — a deleted chat is lost corroboration.
- Call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in within minutes. The operator registers the fraud on the Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), which alerts the recipient banks in the transaction chain. This is the fastest and usually only victim-initiated system that can place a hold on money still inside the banking system, and it works on a clock measured in hours.
- Write to your bank the same day giving the transaction reference, the amount, and the 1930 or NCRP acknowledgment number. Ask the bank to attempt a recall and to note the date of your intimation. For unauthorised debits the RBI limited-liability framework runs on a three-working-day clock from your notification, so a dated written complaint matters.
- File a written FIR at your local police station or the district Cyber Police Station. Under Section 173 BNSS (formerly Section 154 CrPC) an FIR for a cognizable offence can be registered at any station irrespective of where the offence occurred — the statutory Zero FIR — including by electronic communication.
If the scammers have already obtained a copy of your Aadhaar or a signature, consider placing a transaction alert with your bank and monitoring your CIBIL report for a short period, since identity misuse sometimes continues as a second attempt under Section 66C.
How do you report a digital arrest scam so the report actually moves?
A report that helps the investigation and preserves a later application for refund of frozen money has five parts — the same set that a magistrate will look for under ss.497/503 BNSS (as applicable) when you seek release of a held amount:
- The 1930 or NCRP acknowledgment number and the time the incident was reported.
- Your bank statement highlighting the debits, with the 12-digit UPI reference numbers for each transfer.
- The numbers, UPI IDs, account numbers and any QR codes the scammers gave you.
- Screenshots and call logs, with hash values preserved if possible — electronic records will later need a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (the successor to Section 65B of the Evidence Act), so preserving the original device matters.
- A short, dated narrative of what was said, in the order it happened, without embellishment.
Keep a single PDF bundle and reuse it for the bank, the police and, if needed, the court. Consistency across forums is itself protective — contradictions in later retellings are what defence counsel exploit.
Has the Supreme Court actually addressed digital arrest?
Yes, and the fact that it has taken the phenomenon up suo motu is itself a measure of scale. In October 2025 the Supreme Court registered suo motu cognizance (Suo Motu Writ Crl. 3/2025, 17 Oct 2025, Surya Kant + Bagchi JJ.) after reports of elderly victims losing over one crore rupees to callers impersonating the CBI, Intelligence Bureau and the Supreme Court itself, issuing notice to the Union (MHA), the CBI and Haryana authorities. On 27 Oct 2025 the Court mooted entrusting investigation to the CBI on a pan-India basis and sought FIR details from States/UTs. For the public, the practical takeaway from that proceeding is simple: no statute recognises digital arrest as a lawful arrest today.
How can families and businesses reduce the risk?
No precaution eliminates a well-executed impersonation call, but these reduce both the odds and the damage:
- A family code word. Digital arrest scammers isolate the victim and forbid contact with family. A pre-agreed check — a single message to a family member before any transfer — breaks the isolation the scam depends on.
- Verify independently. If a caller claims to be from any agency, disconnect and call that agency’s published landline or visit the nearest police station. No genuine officer objects to verification.
- Treat any demand for money on a call as a hard stop. No court, police unit, customs office or TRAI official collects money over a phone or video call. That single rule, if internalised, defeats the entire scam.
- Limit screen-sharing. Train staff and family never to install remote-access tools on the instruction of a caller, no matter the logo on screen.
- Report fast, even if embarrassed. The CFCFRMS window is measured in hours. Delay out of shame is the mechanism by which a recoverable fraud becomes an unrecoverable one.
Primary sources
- Information Technology Act, 2000 — India Code (Sections 66C, 66D, 78, 79)
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — India Code (Sections 308, 318, 319, 351, 111)
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — India Code (Sections 35, 43, 94, 173, 497, 503)
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — India Code (Section 63 on electronic evidence)
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — cybercrime.gov.in and the 1930 helpline (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs)
- Supreme Court suo motu cognizance on digital arrest scams — Suo Motu Writ Crl. 3/2025, order 17 Oct 2025 (Surya Kant + Bagchi JJ., notice to Union/MHA, CBI, Haryana) with CBI-entrustment mooted 27 Oct 2025 (reported by Medianama 28 Oct 2025; The Hindu 27 Oct 2025)
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