On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India lodged a cyber crime complaint with the Delhi Police against a social media account that impersonated Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and solicited money for a cab fare.
The complaint was initiated after CJI Chandrachud became aware of a viral screenshot of a message from Sunday. The Supreme Court’s security team then took action on CJI Chandrachud’s complaint, leading to the filing of a first information report with the cyber crime department.
Details of the Scammer’s Message
The fraudulent message was posted by an account using CJI Chandrachud’s name and photo. The scammer requested ₹500 from an X user named Kailash Meghwal, claiming it was needed for a cab ride to attend a Collegium meeting. The scammer promised Meghwal that the money would be reimbursed once they reached the Supreme Court.
The screenshot of the post revealed that the impersonator claimed to be “stranded” at Connaught Place (CP) in Delhi. The message read: “Hello, I am CJI and we have an urgent meeting of the collegium and I am stuck at Connaught Place. Can you send me ₹500 for a cab?”
Related Incident
In March of this year, a 42-year-old man named Ayub Khan was arrested for impersonating a Delhi Police crime branch inspector. Khan allegedly defrauded two individuals of ₹4 lakh by falsely claiming to sell luxury cars and expensive cellphones auctioned through Delhi courts at discounted prices. The police recovered a fake Delhi Police identity card from Khan during their investigation.
Khan had been involved in four similar cheating cases at various Delhi police stations and used the stolen money to lead a lavish lifestyle, frequenting nightclubs in Delhi and Mumbai.
