Ex-Chief Justice of India RM Lodha was cheated of Rs 1 lakh in an online scam (File Photo)

Former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha was cheated of Rs 1 lakh in an online scam after the email account of his friend, a retired judge, was hacked, a police officer said on Sunday.

The incident came to light on Saturday when Chief Justice (Retired) Lodha, a resident of south Delhi's Panchsheel Park, visited the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police EOW and Cyber Cell in Malviya Nagar police station to file a complaint.

In his complaint, he said that he used to regularly correspond through email with his friend and colleague, Justice (Retired) BP Singh.

"I, on April 19, received a mail from the email ID of BP Singh that he required immediate help of Rs 1 lakh for the treatment of his cousin brother as he (BP Singh) is unavailable over phone. I immediately deposited Rs 1 lakh online in two transactions at the given account number," he said.

A senior police officer told IANS that when Justice Singh regained control of his email on May 30, he sent a mail regarding the hacking of his account on April 18-19 to his contact list.

"When RM Lodha read the email sent by BP Singh regarding his hacked email, he immediately disclosed that he was cheated and duped of Rs 1 lakh by the unknown hacker. On the suggestion of BP Singh, RM Lodha approached the Delhi Police and filed a complaint. We have registered a case under various sections of the IPC including cheating and the IT Act. A probe is on to identify the accused hacker," the officer said.