Digital Arrest Scams: How They Work and What the Supreme Court Has Directed: An Illustrative Scenario in Mumbai

To make the general position concrete, here is an illustrative, hypothetical situation (not a real case) that raises this question.

The illustrative scenario

The question

The natural question that follows is:

How the general rule applies

Generally speaking, a 'digital arrest' is not a recognised legal process in India. No police officer, court, or enforcement agency can arrest or detain a person over a video call.

The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of digital arrest scams on 17 Oct 2025, after an Ambala couple lost ₹1.05 crore to forged Supreme Court and Enforcement Directorate orders.

On 1 Dec 2025, the Supreme Court directed a pan-India CBI probe, including into bankers who opened mule accounts used in such frauds.

No. There is no such thing as an arrest conducted over a video call. It is a fraud technique that imitates the appearance of a police or court proceeding to pressure victims into transferring money.

What often gets missed in situations like this

• Believing that cooperating or paying will 'close' a fabricated case — these scams rely on panic, not any real legal process.
• Deleting messages or screenshots before reporting, which removes evidence that helps trace the fraud.
• Waiting beyond the reporting window before contacting your bank — see our page on reporting timelines and liability for why speed affects your legal position.

Where this scenario is set (Mumbai)

• The High Court with jurisdiction is the Bombay High Court.
• Matters at the district level are generally handled at the Mumbai City Civil Court, or the Court of Small Causes for tenancy matters.
• The relevant police authority is the Mumbai Police.
• Cyber complaints in the area are generally routed through Maharashtra Cyber (headquartered at Mahape).

As noted above, this scenario is a constructed illustration used to explain the general rule — it does not describe a real client, case, or outcome.

For the general rules, see Digital Arrest Scams: How They Work and What the Supreme Court Has Directed, Bank Account Freezes in Cyber Fraud Cases: An Unsettled Area, Reporting Cyber Fraud: Timelines and Your Liability, and Where to Report Cyber Fraud: Portals, Helplines, and e-Zero FIR.

If you are weighing a decision on this, a short consultation can help map out the options.

The content above explains how the law generally works; it is not legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for advice on your particular facts.