Landmark ruling holds both bank and telecom operator liable; Vodafone Idea fined ₹5 lakh for issuing duplicate SIM
In a rare and significant verdict, Mona Khandhar, Adjudicating Officer and Principal Secretary of the Gujarat Government’s Department of Science and Technology, has ordered ICICI Bank to refund nearly ₹1.20 crore to a company that fell victim to a duplicate SIM card scam.
Telecom operator Vodafone Idea has been fined ₹5 lakh for its role in the breach. Both the bank and the telecom company have been directed to carry out internal vulnerability checks within three months.
The case involves ₹1.19 crore siphoned from Collective Trade Links Pvt Ltd’s account through 22 transactions on March 12, 2023, while company director Prakash Mehta—also a co-applicant in the case—was travelling in Vietnam.
According to the petition, fraudsters obtained a duplicate SIM for Mehta’s number, which Vodafone Idea allegedly issued based on a suspicious email without proper verification as required by TRAI guidelines. The petitioners also accused ICICI Bank of failing to act on the unauthorised transactions, despite being informed and asked to escalate the matter to the Serious Fraud Investigation Department (SFID).
Both companies denied negligence. ICICI Bank claimed full cooperation with investigators and argued it was not liable for compensation. Vodafone Idea said the allegations lacked detail and proof of TRAI guideline violations.
In her final order, Khandhar directed ICICI Bank to refund ₹1.05 crore to the company and pay ₹10 lakh as penalty and compensation within six weeks. Vodafone Idea must pay its ₹5 lakh penalty under Section 43(g) of the IT Act within six months.
Calling it a landmark judgment, Cyber Crime Cell DCP Lavina Sinha said, “We thoroughly investigated the case and assisted the petitioners in every possible way.”