Newdelhi: The Supreme Court has refused to consolidate 35 cybercrime cases pending against two individuals across 12 states for allegedly permitting their corporate account to be utilized as a mule account in exchange for a commission. Denouncing cybercrime as digital dacoity, the apex court strongly criticized organized criminal operations that victimize senior citizens through digital arrest scams, asserting that perpetrators must encounter rigorous legal consequences.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed the petition brought forward by Gourab Kumar Saha and Nidhi Bhandari. The bench remarked that digital arrests and related cyber offenses constitute digital dacoity, leaving no room to provide a judicial platform for such individuals.
Highlighting a specific fraudulent incident, the Chief Justice noted that an 81-year-old resident of Ernakulam in Kerala was cheated out of Rs 1.90 crore, with the stolen funds channeled directly into the defendants' mule account. The judges maintained that the accused deliberately chose to employ their company account for cybercrimes such as digital arrests.
The tribunal similarly declined to permit the accused to leverage the legal proceedings to hinder ongoing investigations across multiple jurisdictions. Justice Bagchi questioned why victims should be compelled to travel to Delhi merely to accommodate an accused party attempting to combine the legal matters. The bench stressed that an accused person's preference for case consolidation cannot supersede the rights of victims and local law enforcement agencies, noting that the court would only weigh such a move if the Delhi Police requested it for investigative convenience.
The Chief Justice further questioned whether a victim whose misappropriated money was transferred to Hong Kong and Bangkok would be expected to travel abroad for justice. Confronted with the court's position, the petitioners ultimately chose to withdraw their application.
The 35 active cybercrime cases against the accused remain distributed across 12 states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, and Gujarat. The refusal of the Supreme Court to merge the proceedings ensures that independent investigations will proceed within their respective jurisdictions.