What happened

The Supreme Court directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to develop and circulate within four weeks a standard operating procedure (SOP) for banks. The SOP is intended to guide banks in placing temporary debit holds on mule accounts linked to money laundering activity and cyber-enabled fraud described as “digital arrest.”

The Supreme Court also directed that copies of the RBI SOP be provided to the Registrars-General of High Courts.

Alongside the RBI directions, the Supreme Court asked States and Union Territories to frame modules for grievance redressal and money restoration aligned with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) SOP for the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and its Cyber Risk Management System (Cyber RMS). The Supreme Court further asked States and Union Territories to notify Cyber Crime Coordination Centres and ensure coverage through e-Zero First Information Reports (e-Zero FIR) within the same four-week timeline.

Background and earlier position

The Supreme Court’s directions referenced existing data-sharing and portal-based components used for cybercrime reporting, risk tracking, and follow-up workflows.

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