Punjab and Haryana High Court seeks ‘SIM card’ assistance from telecom ministry

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made a significant move in the fight against cybercrime by asking the central government to limit the number of prepaid SIM cards to one per person. This decision came after the court issued an interim order in the case of Sumit Nandwani V/S State of Haryana, where the accused had a staggering 35 prepaid SIM cards in his name, out of which 12 are still active and were used for fraudulent activities.

The court highlighted the fact that a large proportion of cyber frauds occur through prepaid numbers, including various scams like tech support services, Amazon and gift card schemes, insurance fraud, and more. It emphasized that restricting individuals to a single prepaid SIM card could significantly reduce cybercrime incidents, financial fraud, and the exploitation of individuals and their assets.

Furthermore, the court questioned the rationale behind allowing individuals, firms, or companies to acquire multiple prepaid SIM cards under their name when the Aadhaar card is exclusively linked to a single SIM card for OTP generation. It suggested that the Ministry of Telecommunication should provide a window for telecom service providers to validate a single SIM card linked to an Aadhar card and allow SIM card holders to convert it into a post-paid one, while disconnecting all other prepaid SIM cards.

In conclusion, the high court’s decision to limit prepaid SIM cards to one per person is a step in the right direction towards combating cybercrime and protecting the interests of individuals in India.