Dismissed

In the Matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. the State of Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh HC3 Jul 2024WPPIL/30/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court disposed of this suo moto PIL regarding lack of experts in cyber police stations. The Court reviewed an affidavit by the DG of Police stating discrepancies in the news report. It accepted the explanation regarding the role of cyber cells and the volume of cases registered under various sections of the IT Act. The petition was dismissed.

What did the court decide?

Petition disposed of; no specific relief granted.

In the Matter of Suo Moto Public Interest… — Service and Employment | Chhattisgarh HC (2024)

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NAFR

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HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR WPPIL No. 30 of 2024

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In the matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation, Regarding “Lack of Experts In Range Cyber Police Stations : Cyber Crime Cases Dwindle.” Based On News Item Published In Daily News Paper Dainik Bhaskar, Bilaspur Bhaskar Dated 24-04-2024 As “jsat lkbcj Fkkuksa esa 7 ekg esa flQZ 7 dsl] D;ksafd ,DliVZ dh HkrhZ ugha A”

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---- Petitioner

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Versus

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The State of Chhattisgarh Through Chief Secretary, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

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The State of Chhattisgarh Ministry of Home, Through Principal Secretary Home Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur Chhattisgarh.

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Director General of Police Police Head Quarter, Sector 19, Nawa Raipur Chhattisgarh.

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Inspector General of Police Range Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

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Inspector General of Police Range Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

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Inspector General of Police Range Durg, Chhattisgarh.

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Inspector General of Police Range Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

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Inspector General of Police Range Surguja, Chhattisgarh.

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Superintendent of Police District- Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

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Nodal Officer Cyber Cell Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

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Station House Officer Cyber Crime Cell, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

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---- Respondents

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(Cause-title taken from Case Information System)

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For Respondents/State : Mr. R.S. Marhas, Additional Advocate General

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Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge

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Order on Board

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Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

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04.07.2024

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This suo moto PIL has been registered on the basis of

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news reporting published in “Bilaspur Bhaskar” on 24.04.2024 with a heading “jsat lkbcj Fkkuksa es 7 ekg esa flQZ 7

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dsl] D;ksafd ,DliVZ dh HkrhZ ugha**”with sub-headings “[kqn gh cpsa Bxksa ls] izns’k esa flQZ rhu lkbcj ,DliVZ baLisDVj] dkSu djs tkap] “10 vxLr 2023 dks 5 js a t esa gqbZ Fkh lkbcj Fkkuksa dh 'kq:vkr”and “fcykliqj jsat ds 6 ftyksa ds fy, ,d Fkkuk”.

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The said news report states that the Cyber Police Station has registered only seven cases during the period of seven months because the said Police Station lacks experts in the field and further, for the last three months, not a single FIR has been registered relating to cyber crime.

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In view of the above, this Court vide order dated 24.04.2024, directed the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh, Raipur to file his personal affidavit in the present matter where cognizance has been taken by this Court on the basis of the aforesaid news item with respect to lack of experts in the Cyber Police Station for curbing the cyber crime.

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In compliance of the said order, an affidavit dated 08.05.2024 has been filed by the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh stating that five police stations established in five Police Ranges in the State are not only meant for registering cyber offences but also to coordinate and assist all such cyber crimes reported to any other police station situated in the State. The Cyber Police Stations have enquired as many as 152 complaints since August2023. The Range Cyber Police Stations, apart from investigating cyber crimes, are also entrusted with several other works and they work as abridge between Police

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Headquarters and the District for implementing various guidelines issued by the Police Headquarters. Further, the term‘ cyber expert’ is subject to multiple interpretations and there is no such prerequisite for deployment in Cyber Police Stations. The personnel deployed at Cyber Police Stations have quite good experience of working in the field of cyber crime investigation and the allegation of lack of experienced and trained Cyber Crime Experts, is incorrect.

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The affidavit further goes to show that the news reporting that for all police stations falling under the Bilaspur Range, there is only one cyber Police Station at Bilaspur, is incorrect as Cyber Police Station is one amongst many other platforms available with the victim for registering cyber crime complaints and one of the prominent platform is the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Cyber Crime Reporting Portal is available round the clock and the victim is not even required to visit the Police Station for registering the complaints. In the said portal, there is a feature namely Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System which enables holding of fradulent transactions as soon as the victim reports the same and through the said System, the State Police at various levels, has been able to save a sum of Rs. 20 Crores from siphoning off to criminals and thugs bank accounts, while a sum of Rs. 1 Crore has been refunded.

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The affidavit further goes to state that 480 FIRs have been registered under various Police Stations and Cyber Police Station during the

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period from August 2023 to March 2024 under the Information Technology Act. The Cyber Crime Helpline Number 1930 is also operation in the State round the clock. For helping out the efforts of the Police Stations, the State Cyber Police Station and State Cyber Forensic Lab are operational at Police Headquarters. They deal with complex and serious cyber financial fraud cases and the State Cyber Police Station is also engaged in providing technical assistance to various district units in cyber crime investigation.

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It has further been stated that special provision is being made in the Central and State budget for ensuring availability of IT resource and manpower at all levels dealing with cyber crime. For the current budget year, Rs. 60 Lakhs and Rs. 25 Lakhs have been provisioned for purchasing Hardware/Software and furniture for the Cyber Police Stations. Additional fund is being sought under modernisation scheme for further strengthening of hardware/software required for dealing with cyber crime investigation.

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This Court vide order dated 09.05.2024 directed that the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh shall inform this Court by way of an affidavit as to what is the present status of the 480 FIRs which is said to have been registered under the Information Technology Act at various Police Stations and Cyber Police Stations during the period from August 2023 to March, 2024.

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In compliance of the order dated 09.05.2024 passed by this Court, the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh has filed an affidavit

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giving the status of the 480 FIRs which is said to have been registered under the Information Technology Act at various Police Stations and Cyber Police Stations during the period from August 2023 to March, 2024, wherein it has been stated that out of 480 cases, in 141 cases Police has submitted the Final Report against 152 accused before the concerned Courts and 140 cases out the said 141 cases are pending before the respective Courts for final decision and one (01) has resulted in acquittal. It has been further stated that 339 cases out of 480 cases, are under investigation with Police and as many as 106 persons have been arrested in 99 cases out of the above mentioned 339 cases from various places within and outside the State. Out of these 480 cases, 75 percent are mainly offences registered u/s 66(e), 67(a) and 67(b) i.e. publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form and 25 percent are offences involving online financial frauds registered u/s 66(c) and (d) of the IT Act.

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In the said affidavit, it has also been stated that steps are being taken for expeditious disposal of the said cases and following steps to address the issues of pendency have been taken :

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“a. Enhancing the skills and knowledge of the law enforcement personnel through regular training and workshops on cybercrime and digital evidence handling.

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b. Expanding the cyber investigation infrastructure by establishing more Cyber Police Station.

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c. Procuring more high end Hardware/Software for enhancing the quality of cyber crime investigation.

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d. Utilizing various portal developed by Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs for more comprehensive and coordinated action against cyber crime.

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e. Prioritizing the allotment of cybercrime cases to dedicated cyber police stations/cells for specialized attention and resolution.”

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In view of the above, we hope and trust that necessary steps would be taken for expeditious investigation and trial of the cases registered under the Information Technology Act at various Police Stations and Cyber Police Stations.

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With the aforesaid observation and direction, the instant petition stands disposed of .

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Sd/Sd/-

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(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice

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Chandra

In the Matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. the State of Chhattisgarh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

In the Matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. the State of Chhattisgarh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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