New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday stepped up its oversight of the country's battle against the growing menace of "digital arrest" scams, issuing a fresh set of nationwide directions aimed at plugging systemic gaps in cyber fraud investigations, speeding up the restoration of victims' money and strengthening preventive mechanisms. Among its key directions, the court asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to frame within four weeks a standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with mule bank accounts used to launder proceeds of cyber fraud, directed all states to operationalise cyber fraud grievance redressal and money restoration systems, called for the adoption of the e-Zero FIR mechanism across the country, and asked the Centre to examine a shared liability and victim compensation framework for victims of digital arrest scams. The directions were passed by a bench led by CJI Surya Kant hearing a suo motu case initiated to monitor the country's response to digital arrest frauds, where fraudsters impersonate police officers, CBI officials, judges or other government functionaries to extort money from victims through prolonged video calls and psychological intimidation. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, was considering the fourth status report submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Union home ministry, along with notes filed by Attorney General R Venkataramani and senior advocate NS Nappinai, the amicus curiae assisting the court. While noting that the government's coordinated efforts have led to a significant decline in reported cases, the bench emphasised that sustained vigilance remained essential and that institutional mechanisms had to be further strengthened....