Retired Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Sanjiv Khanna recently flagged concerns about a growing perception that law enforcement agencies are to be feared rather than trusted, which prevents victims from seeking their help when it comes to reporting cyber crimes.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna warned that such public mistrust of enforcement agencies is allowing cybercriminals to thrive.
There is a prevailing perception that law enforcement agencies exist to harass rather than help, he noted. This deep-rooted fear has allowed criminals to exploit people in cyber scams such as digital arrest scams.
“Instead of seeking justice, many end up paying the harassers out of fear,” he said.
Justice Khanna called for more empathy from law enforcement agencies to tackle such tendencies.
"It’s time law enforcement became more approachable and public awareness increased - a two-way process that can truly help address the issue," he suggested.
Justice Khanna was speaking at the TPF–Dayitva: National Legal Conference on Combating White-Collar Crime, organised by the Terapanth Professional Forum (TPF) at New Delhi on October 11.
He termed white-collar crime an evolving threat that corrodes the moral fabric of society. He noted that white-collar crime challenges not only the boundaries of law but the conscience of governance itself.
He also called for invoking laws against financial lapses with more sensitivity. He urged lawmakers to distinguish between intentional fraud, unintentional error, and procedural lapse.
"Every act or failure to act that has financial implications cannot be painted with the same brush ...The strength of the justice system lies not in the severity of punishment but in the certainty of justice," he said.
Former Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Karnal Singh, who also spoke at the conference, said India must adopt a “lead agency” system to streamline investigations and prevent duplication of efforts by multiple investigation agencies when it comes to tackling financial fraud.
“Often, there is little cooperation among investigative bodies probing the same case. Agencies are reluctant to share evidence or documents seized during investigation,” Singh observed.
Referring to the AgustaWestland bribery case, Singh noted that the trail of bribe money moved across several countries, but only a small portion that entered India was attached.
"There is no clear information about the rest of the funds," he said.
He added that proper coordination between investigation agencies and international partners was essential to effectively trace and recover such illicit assets.
Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), observed that white collar crimes tend to rise as societies become more prosperous.
“Today, money is no longer stolen from pockets but from systems. UPI may have removed cash, but not corruption. It has only made the thefts digital,” he remarked.
TPF National Convenor Raj Kumar Nahataa called upon professionals to become collective whistleblowers, guardians of ethics and protectors of the nation’s moral wealth by proactively acting against cybercrimes.
"Every scam robs us of opportunity, every fraud delays our development,” he said.
The conference was attended by a large number of professionals from law, finance, medicine, and academia, and featured discussions on ethics, compliance, governance, and the evolving statutory framework to address financial crimes, aligning with India’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’