Overview
- The Court took suo motu cognisance on October 17 after an Ambala senior couple alleged Rs 1.05 crore was extorted between September 3 and 16 through threats backed by fake Supreme Court orders.
- It issued notices to the Union Home Ministry, the CBI, the Haryana Home Department, and the Ambala Cyber Crime unit, and requested assistance from the Attorney General of India.
- Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the misuse of court names, seals, and forged judicial signatures goes beyond ordinary cybercrime and warrants coordinated action nationwide.
- The complaint details counterfeit documents including a purported PMLA ‘freeze order,’ an ED ‘arrest order,’ a ‘surveillance order’ with forged judicial signatures, and references to fictitious Bombay High Court proceedings.
- Official portal data show reported cases climbing from 39,925 in 2022 to 123,672 in 2024 with losses rising from Rs 91.14 crore to Rs 1,935.51 crore, alongside enforcement steps such as blocking 83,668 WhatsApp accounts, 3,962 Skype IDs, 7.81 lakh SIMs, and 2,08,469 IMEIs.