Chandigarh, Aug. 21 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has said that the existing legal framework and the punishment prescribed for cyber fraud offences do not appear to be "sufficiently deterrent".

"Court deems it appropriate to express its concern over the alarming increase in cybercrime in the country, which has created a sense of apprehension amongst bank account holders that, at any point of time, the funds lying in their accounts may be siphoned off through fraudulent means, leaving them in a helpless and vulnerable situation," the bench of justice Sanjay Vashisth observed. The bench directed that the judgment be sent to the directors general of police of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, for circulation amongst the concerned cyber...