Highlighting the growing threat of digital fraud in India, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant shared a personal experience revealing how cybercriminals created multiple websites using his name to send messages to relatives and legal professionals. He spoke at the national conference on “Cyber Security: Awareness, Protection and Inclusive Access to Justice” held in Jaipur on February 20, 2026.
Describing cyber fraud as “extortion and dacoity,” the CJI said more than Rs 50,000 crore has been stolen through such crimes. He stressed that cyber safety must remain central to discussions around justice. “Cyber safety is at the heart of justice conversation. We’ve been taught since childhood to think first and then act. In the digital world, this simple discipline becomes a form of protection (against cyber threats). We often speak about cybercrime in the language of anecdotes, such as stolen OTPs and digital arrest scams. I gave a notice in the SC on digital arrest. I took cognisance of the case of an elderly victim of digital arrest. I am monitoring it today. More than Rs 50,000 crore has been looted. That is a clear case of extortion and dacoity,” he stated.
Referring to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, he highlighted the scale of the issue, noting nearly 6.6 million pending cyber fraud cases across courts in India. “MHA has come out with alarming data. About 66 lakh cases of cyber fraud are pending in this country. It is no longer a marginal problem but a mass phenomenon. Cybercrime has no geographical boundaries. It has become a global problem, and we must all work together to find a solution,” he said.
Sharing his own experience, Justice Surya Kant added, “Every alternate day, I find a new website created in my name. Those sites are used to send messages. My sister and young lawyers received a message in my name, but fortunately, the language was not offensive. I immediately instructed cyber police to find out about it, and these sites were being developed in Nigeria.”
The event was inaugurated by CJI Surya Kant along with Bhajanlal Sharma, Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The 3-day seminar was organised by the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority and included the launch of several initiatives led by Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
On the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Mann Ki Baat address, urged citizens to stay alert against digital arrest scams and verify identities through the KYC process.
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