Karnataka HC has ordered the creation of a fully empowered Cyber Command Centre to fight rising digital crimes, stressing independence from politics. The court warned that without such a specialised agency, “justice will remain a mirage for thousands of victims.”
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has taken a very serious view of the growing number of cybercrime cases in the State and has ordered the government to immediately set up a strong and fully functional Cyber Command Centre (CCC) to deal with digital offences.
The direction came from Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who stressed that the new body must be independent and protected from political influence. The judge said the CCC should be led by a senior police officer with a stable tenure to maintain consistency.
He also made it clear that the transfer of the Director General of Police (DGP) in charge of the CCC should not happen frequently, but only “in exceptional cases” and after consultation.
Calling the creation of the cyber command centre an urgent necessity, Justice Nagaprasanna declared:
“This is not a recommendation, it is an imperative. Without a specialised, empowered agency to tackle cybercrime, justice will remain a mirage for thousands of victims.”
The court’s direction came during the hearing of a case filed by Bengaluru-based defence-tech company NewSpace Research and Technologies.
The company accused one of its former employees of stealing confidential data before joining a competitor, and then using that stolen information to win defence contracts.
Earlier in April, the High Court had already set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into these allegations and had suggested forming a cyber command centre.
On Wednesday, during the hearing, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty and Special Public Prosecutor B.N. Jagadeesha informed the bench that the government had accepted the idea and issued an order to establish the CCC.
But the judge made it clear that simply setting up the body will not solve the problem.
He cautioned:
“If it remains inert, it would only become a paper implementation, in the face of growing menace of cyber crimes. This CCC should not be a mere edifice of bureaucracy, but a paradigm shift, a beacon heralding a new dawn in the fight against cyber crime.”
The High Court also ordered that the national cybercrime helpline number ‘1930’ must be integrated into the systems of the CCC. It further directed that every call and every action taken through the helpline should be properly recorded and traceable.
The judge pointed out that the helpline currently functions in a legal
“grey zone where funds are often frozen or released without filing FIRs.”
While reviewing the data, the High Court highlighted the alarming jump in cybercrime cases in Karnataka, which increased from 8,396 in 2021 to nearly 30,000 in 2025.
The judge expressed concern that
“most disturbingly, jurisdictional police stations, not specialised cyber units, are now handling a majority of these cases, despite lacking training and tools.”
To address this issue, the court directed that all cybercrime cases in Karnataka should come under the CCC so that they are investigated with proper expertise, accountability, and uniformity.
The State government has been asked to file a detailed action taken report on the establishment and functioning of the CCC by September 24, which is the next date of hearing in the matter.
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