Thousands of crores lost by senior citizens to online fraud, says CJI

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed shock at the scale of cybercrime in India, noting that senior citizens have lost thousands of crores to fraud and extortion. He emphasised the need for continuous training of judicial officers to address modern challenges such as digital crimes.

Patna: CJI Surya Kant on Saturday said he was “shocked” to note the high incidence of cyber crimes in the country, which have led common people, especially senior citizens, to be robbed of thousands of crores of rupees.

He was addressing a function in Pothahi, on the outskirts of Patna, where he laid the foundation stone for a new campus of the Bihar Judicial Academy.

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“A judicial academy is the only effective platform for district judiciary to keep abreast of the newest complexities in civil or criminal laws like the fast-growing quagmire of cyber crimes,” he said.

“All of you have never thought of hearing offences like digital arrest and how these cyber crimes are being committed day and night, and the harassment caused, particularly, to senior citizens,” he added.

The CJI said these are the latest challenges which the Indian judiciary is facing.

“I was shocked to know that in India alone, not a few hundred crores, (but) thousands of crores have been siphoned off, by way of extortion committed on senior citizens through cyber crime,” he said.

The CJI said, therefore, the significance of sensitive training and updating of judicial officers to deal with these kinds of modern challenges is extremely important.

“Courts function through judges, but judges are also shaped by training. Judicial academies are, therefore, silent pillars that sustain the justice delivery system. They are spaces where legal knowledge is refined,” he said.

“The judiciary today, let us acknowledge, operates in an environment of unprecedented change. Courts are increasingly called upon to address disputes arising from technological innovation, economic complexity, social transformation and evolving rights jurisprudence,” he said.

Maintaining that public expectations from the justice delivery system are higher than ever, the CJI said judicial education cannot remain static and episodic, with continuous learning essential for maintaining judicial relevance and credibility.

“Judges must remain intellectually agile, socially aware and ethically grounded. Judicial academies serve as the institutional mechanism through which this ongoing education is structured and maintained. They provide judges with the tools to interpret law in a manner that is principled, pragmatic and sensitive to the life realities of the litigants,” he said.

He said the ripple effect of judicial training extends far beyond courtrooms and classrooms, and they shape public trust in the rule of law.

“Justice, when delivered efficiently and humanly, reinforces democratic faith,” he added.

The CJI also noted that Bihar’s social diversity, historical experience and regional challenges provide a distinct context within which justice must operate.

“A judicial academy in Bihar must, therefore, engage with these realities, understanding local social dynamics, regional legal issues and everyday challenges faced by citizens while ensuring that adjudication remains consistent with constitutional values and national jurisprudence,” he said.