New Delhi: The Centre has moved away from making automatic disconnection of prolonged calls a primary measure against digital arrest scams, opting instead for a phased strategy based largely on safeguards proposed by messaging platforms WhatsApp and Telegram.
Under the revised framework, users could receive alerts during lengthy calls, warnings about unfamiliar callers and options to silence calls from unknown numbers. A forced call disconnection mechanism will be considered only as a final measure and initially tested through a pilot project. No implementation deadline or call-duration limit has been announced.
The decision follows consultations involving the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Department of Telecommunications and technology companies. Meeting records submitted to the Supreme Court reveal that WhatsApp and Telegram questioned the effectiveness of automatic call cut-offs.
WhatsApp argued that scammers could easily bypass such restrictions by ending calls before the prescribed limit and reconnecting through different numbers or platforms. Telegram also raised concerns about implementing the measure across its global user base.
I4C, however, supported testing the mechanism, maintaining that disconnecting prolonged calls could give victims time to reconsider fraudulent instructions.
The Supreme Court initiated proceedings in October 2025 after receiving a complaint from a 73-year-old woman in Haryana who, along with her husband, was allegedly held under digital arrest for over two weeks and cheated of more than Rs 1 crore.
The court had subsequently directed authorities to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a time-based call disconnection system. The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on November 23.
