Abstract
This paper critically evaluates the adequacy of Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in addressing the emerging phenomenon of digital arrest scams and advanced forms of personation facilitated by contemporary digital technologies. Digital arrest constitutes a sophisticated social-engineering fraud in which offenders impersonate police officers, judicial authorities, or regulatory officials through video-conferencing platforms, fabricated electronic documents, and increasingly artificial-intelligence-generated voice and video content, thereby inducing victims to transfer substantial sums under threat of imminent arrest or prosecution.
The study adopts a doctrinal research methodology supplemented by an interdisciplinary examination of cyber-forensics, electronic evidence rules under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the organised-crime provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The analysis demonstrates that while Section 66D is technologically neutral and doctrinally capable of covering the core elements of cheating by personation through a communication device, its maximum punishment of three years’ imprisonment and fine of one lakh rupees is disproportionately low when measured against the gravity of organised digital-arrest operations that routinely involve mule-account networks, cross-border elements, and significant psychological and financial harm to victims, particularly senior citizens.
The paper further identifies structural gaps relating to the absence of aggravated-personation categories, limited recovery mechanisms for defrauded funds, and persistent challenges of digital attribution and international cooperation. It concludes that Section 66D remains a necessary but insufficient instrument and recommends legislative recalibration through graded punishment structures, explicit recognition of aggravating factors including impersonation of public authorities and use of synthetic media, and the development of coordinated financial-freezing and victim-restoration protocols.