Digital fraud: MHA approves refund of stolen amount below Rs 50,000 sans court order
Court order not mandatory for stolen amount below ₹50,000 says MHA in new SOP for refund to digital fraud victims
By - Newsmeter Network
Court order not mandatory for stolen amount below ₹50,000 says MHA in new SOP for refund to digital fraud victims
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the refund of stolen money to the victims of digital fraud.
Under the new SOP, the court order is not mandatory for refunding stolen money below ₹50000.
The move comes as a relief to residents of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Telangana recorded 15105 cases, and Andhra Pradesh recorded 1,771 cases of digital fraud in 2025.
Highlights of the New SOP
The newly approved framework targets the Cyber Financial Crime Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) to streamline the recovery of "frozen" funds.
90-Day Deadline: Banks are now mandated to lift holds on frozen funds within 90 days if no court order or restoration request is pending.
Small-Value Refunds: For fraud under ₹50,000, victims can get a refund through a simplified administrative process.
Escalation Structure: A three-tier system has been established to resolve disputes between banks, payment aggregators, and law enforcement.
Uniformity: The SOP applies a standard timeline across all financial entities, including NBFCs, stock-trading apps, and e-commerce platforms. "The uniform grievance redressal and fund restoration mechanism will reduce uncertainty and strengthen trust in the fintech sector," says Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.com, an online trading platform. "It curtails frivolous freezes of legitimate accounts while enabling faster action against confirmed fraud."
Snapshot: 2025 Cybercrime in the Telugu States
The implementation of this SOP is particularly critical given the high volume of cases in South India. While 2025 saw a stabilisation of crime rates due to increased police intervention and awareness, the numbers remain significant.
A Growing National Challenge
The scale of the issue is reflected in data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which reveals that Indians have lost over ₹52,976 crore to fraud in the last six years. However, the CFCFRMS platform has proven effective, saving over ₹7,130 crore by blocking the siphoning of funds in over 23 lakh registered complaints as of late last year.
The new SOP is expected to further boost these recovery rates by reducing the "legal friction" that often prevents common citizens from reclaiming their hard-earned money, according to Vikram Subburaj.
