The Supreme Court on Monday, December 1, 2025, asked the CBI to conduct a unified pan-India investigation into digital arrest scam cases. These scams involve fraudsters posing as law enforcement or government officials to intimidate victims, mostly senior citizens, into paying money via audio or video calls. A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed States, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana, to allow CBI to probe such cases. The court issued a notice to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking an explanation on why Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine learning is not used to detect and freeze bank accounts linked to cyber fraud. Noting that many victims are elderly, the court emphasized protecting their hard-earned money. The Supreme Court also asked Information Technology companies to cooperate fully with the CBI. It directed the CBI to seek help from Interpol to catch cyber criminals operating from offshore tax havens. The court ordered the Department of Telecom to prevent telecom providers from issuing multiple SIM cards to one person or entity, as such SIMs are often used in cyber crimes. Further, all States and Union Territories must set up cyber crime coordination centers for better teamwork with the CBI. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was asked to collect inputs from Union Ministries such as Home Affairs, Telecom, Finance, and Electronics & IT to strengthen measures against cyber crimes. The court allowed all police agencies and the CBI to freeze bank accounts used to defraud citizens. It also directed that CBI investigate bank officials who help fraudsters run mule accounts—accounts in other people's names used to transfer illicit money, complicating inquiries. On November 3, the court highlighted the huge scale of digital arrest scams, with losses exceeding ₹3,000 crore. It reviewed reports from the Ministry of Home Affairs and CBI, saying these crimes must be dealt with firmly to protect citizens.