Rising Digital Frauds and the Challenge of Ensuring Cyber Justice:
According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), cybercrime cases in India rose sharply by 17.9% from 2023 – 2024, moving against the broader national trend where overall registered crime fell by 6%.
- Concurrently, the Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2026 highlights citizens’ vulnerability to cyber fraud and systemic challenges in securing justice for cyber fraud cases
- .Cybercrime in India is rising rapidly, driven by social engineering, AI-enabled scams, digital arrests and financial fraud, while low conviction rates, weak digital forensics and jurisdictional challenges hinder effective justice.
- India needs a shift toward proactive cyber justice through stronger I4C coordination, FRI-based prevention, real-time fund freezing, digital literacy, faster FIR registration and accountable policing.
- According to the latest NCRB 2024 report, India recorded over 1.01 lakh cybercrime cases.
- The crime rate for digital offenses has escalated to 7.3 per lakh population.
- This highlights a definitive national transition from localized, physical offenses to sophisticated, borderless digital crimes.
- Despite the rising number of cybercrime cases, the cybercrime conviction rate remains below 18%, as per NCRB 2022, due to challenges in digital evidence collection, procedural lapses, and the transnational nature of cybercrimes.
