By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 22: High Court of Meghalaya judge, Justice HS Thangkhiew, has said that modern crimes no longer require physical presence, are often transnational, involve victims across jurisdictions and lack traditional forms of evidence such as eyewitnesses.
Justice Thangkhiew, who is the Judge In-charge of the Meghalaya State Judicial Academy, made the remarks while speaking at the inaugural session of a training programme on ‘Cybercrime & the Court: Law, Evidence & Practice’.
In his address, he noted that while technology has become an integral part of daily life, the conventional tools used by law-enforcement agencies and courts have become inadequate in dealing with these evolving threats.
He highlighted that the recent amendments in the Indian criminal justice system—including the replacement of the Indian Penal Code, CrPC and the Evidence Act with three new laws—were specifically aimed at addressing issues of jurisdiction, offences and electronic evidence, which are necessary to keep pace with technological advances.
Sharing recent examples, Justice Thangkhiew pointed out that cybercrime cases are rising even in Shillong.
He recounted a specific case where a lawyer was duped into transferring Rs 90,000 after receiving an AI-generated voice call mimicking her senior. The fraudulent transaction was later traced to multiple numbers linked to Bihar and Haryana.
The arrested man, whose SIM card had been misused, “was just a pawn and had no idea his number was being used,” Justice Thangkhiew noted.
He also pointed out that cybercrime investigations often require complex coordination among several agencies, particularly when bank accounts are frozen to prevent fund movement.
He stated that in some instances, innocent individuals suffer when their accounts are incorrectly frozen, disrupting their livelihoods.
Justice Thangkhiew expressed hope that the training would enable judicial officers to better understand emerging cybercrime trends and the evolving role of courts in handling such cases.
It may be mentioned that the programme, held in collaboration with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, featured technical sessions aimed at strengthening the justice system’s response to technology-enabled offences.
Nisheeth Dixit, Advocate and Cyber Law Consultant, delivered detailed sessions on ‘Cybercrime and Cyber Laws’ and the appreciation, admissibility and handling of electronic evidence.
On the other hand, Deepak Kumar, Senior Cyber Intelligence and Forensics Expert at I4C, presented an overview of the I4C framework, its services and latest trends.
