Karnataka HC directs govt to set up Cyber Command Centre to tackle rising digital crimes
The court said the CCC must be an empowered body, insulated from political interference, and headed by a senior police officer with adequate tenure to ensure stability.
The Karnataka high court on Wednesday, taking serious note of the surge in cybercrime cases in the state, directed the government to establish a fully functional Cyber Command Centre (CCC) to combat the growing menace of digital offences.
The court said the CCC must be an empowered body, insulated from political interference, and headed by a senior police officer with adequate tenure to ensure stability. Transfers, particularly of the Director General of Police leading the CCC, should only take place in “exceptional cases” and after prior consultation, the court added.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, who issued the directions, underlined the importance of continuity and transparency. “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,” he said.
The directions came during the hearing of a petition filed by Bengaluru-based drone manufacturer NewSpace Research and Technologies, which alleged that a former employee stole sensitive data before joining a rival company and using it to win defence contracts. Earlier in April, the court had formed a three-member SIT to probe the allegations and suggested the State explore the creation of a cyber command centre.
On Wednesday, advocate general Shashi Kiran Shetty and special public prosecutor BN Jagadeesha informed the court that the State had accepted the proposal and issued a government order to establish the CCC.
However, the court cautioned that merely creating such a body wasn’t enough. “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,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.
The court also ordered integration of the national cybercrime helpline ‘1930’ with the CCC’s systems, stressing that every call and action must be “traceable and recorded.” It flagged that the helpline currently operates in a legal “grey zone”, where funds are frozen or released without FIRs being filed.
Citing alarming statistics, the court noted that Karnataka registered 8,396 cybercrime cases in 2021, a figure that has surged to nearly 30,000 in 2025. “Most disturbingly, jurisdictional police stations, not the specialised cyber units, are now handling a majority of these cases, despite lacking training and tools,” it said, calling for all cyber investigations to be consolidated under the CCC.
The state has been directed to file an action taken report by September 24, the next date of hearing.
