The Supreme Court of India has sought the assistance of the Delhi Police following a social media scam where an individual impersonated Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud to solicit money. According to a report, the complaint was filed with the Delhi Police’s cyber-crime department on Tuesday.
The issue came to light when a screenshot of a fraudulent message began circulating on social media over the weekend. CJI Chandrachud himself highlighted the scam, prompting the Supreme Court’s security department to act swiftly under his directives.
Details of the Scam
The fraudulent message, which appeared on a social media platform X (formerly Twitter), claimed to be from Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The scammer requested ₹500 from a user named Kailash Meghwal, alleging that the money was needed for a cab fare to attend an urgent Collegium meeting. The impersonator used CJI Chandrachud’s name and image to add credibility to the request.
The message read: “Hello, I am CJI and we have urgent meeting of the collegium and I am stuck at Connaught Place can you send me 500rs for cab?” To further convince the recipient of its authenticity, the scammer appended a line stating, “Sent from iPad.”
The fraudulent request claimed that the Chief Justice was stranded at Connaught Place, a popular area in Delhi, and assured that the money would be returned once he reached the Supreme Court.
Previous Impersonation Case
This incident follows a similar case from earlier this year. In March, a 42-year-old man was arrested for impersonating a Delhi Police crime branch inspector. He allegedly defrauded two individuals of ₹4 lakh by pretending to sell luxury cars and high-end cell phones, purportedly auctioned by Delhi courts at discounted prices. The scammer was eventually apprehended in a cheating case registered at the Subzi Mandi police station in January.
