Cyber criminals have no space in society, jails only meant for them: Supreme Court

Citing Article 130 of the Constitution, the CM says the Supreme Court could sit in Delhi or any other place or places as decided by the Chief Justice of India, with the approval of the President.

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 6, 2026) said cyber criminals do not deserve anything more than being locked up in jail.

“They have no space in society,” Chief Justice Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, said orally while rejecting a bail plea by an accused in a cyber fraud case. The Court did not entertain his plea to surrender after Deepavali. “You do not surrender, the police will take care of you,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi told the accused’s lawyer.

“We are ruthless about cyber criminals. There is no sympathy coming from us. Cyber criminals have no space in society, and jails are only meant for them,” the Chief Justice said. The Court said even murderers have a chance of being rehabilitated, but not cyber fraudsters. “You can release murderers. They can be rehabilitated. But not cyber criminals. They should not be anywhere but in jail,” he said.

Recently, the same Bench mandated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and mechanisms to curb cyber fraud, particularly “digital arrests”, and to facilitate time-bound refunds after hearing the grievances of victims. It also directed law enforcement agencies to initiate criminal action through zero FIRs against cyber fraudsters.

The Court had referred to a status report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which said that complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal against digital arrests had fallen from 1,23,672 in 2024 to 58,249 in 2025, and stood at 16,377 for the period ending June 30, 2026.

It had said the e-Zero FIR mechanism was functional in 19 States, while only 14 States had notified their State Cyber Crime Coordination Centres. The Telecommunications (Radio Equipment Possession Authorisation) Rules, 2025, have been notified, while the Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules, 2025, were at the final stage of notification.