[Cites 2, Cited by 0]
Kerala High Court
Ansar V vs Union Of India on 25 March, 2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM
WEDNESDAY, THE 25TH DAY OF MARCH 2026 / 4TH CHAITHRA, 1948
WP(C) NO. 3982 OF 2026
PETITIONER:
ANSAR V.
AGED 24 YEARS, S/O VEERAN SAHIB
17/286, ASHITHA MANZIL,
METTUPALAYAM STREET, PALAKKAD KERALA,
PIN - 678 001.
BY ADVS.
SRI.RONIT ZACHARIAH
SRI.UNAIS S.
RESPONDENTS:
1 UNION OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI,
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT,
PIN - 110 001.
2 THE INDIAN CYBER CRIME COORDINATION CENTRE
5TH FLOOR, NDCC-II BUILDING, JAI SINGH ROAD,
NEW DELHI - . REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF EXECUTING
OFFICER, PIN - 110 001.
3 THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
BAKERY JUNCTION, NANDAVANAM, VAZHUTHACAUD,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY ITS DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER,
PIN - 695 033.
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4 ESAF SMALL FINANCE BANK
OLAVAKODE BRANCH, AR COMPLEX, 1ST FLOOR,
OLAVAKODE, PUTHUPPARIYARAM VILLAGE,
PALAKKAD, REPRESENTED BY ITS BRANCH MANAGER,
PIN - 678 002.
5 THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & INSPECTOR GENERAL OF
POLICE, KARNATAKA STATE, POLICE HEADQUARTERS,
NO. 2 NRUPATHUNGA ROAD, BANGALORE, KARNATAKA,
PIN - 560 001.
6 THE POLICE INSPECTOR
C.E.N POLICE STATION SOUTH DIVISION,
BANASHANKARI POLICE STATION, 1ST FLOOR,
THYAGRAJANAGARA, BANASHANKARI 2ND STAGE,
BENGALURU, PIN - 560 070.
7 STATION HOUSE OFFICER
PALAKKAD TOWN SOUTH POLICE STATION, PALAKKAD,
PIN - 678 001.
BY ADVS.
SHRI.SREEKANTH K.M., CGC
SRI.B.S.SURESH KUMAR (FOR R4)
SRI.ASHLEY JOHN (FOR R4)
SMT.RANJANA V. (FOR R4)
SMT.ANUSREE C.S. (FOR R4)
SMT.NEMI P.N. (FOR R4)
SMT. G.SHEEBA (GP)
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 25.03.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
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JUDGMENT
1. The Petitioner has filed this Writ Petition challenging the
debit freezing/lien of his Bank account with the
Respondent/Bank at the requisition of the Police
Authorities. The case of the Petitioner is that the Petitioner
is not an accused in the Crime registered by the Police
authorities against some other persons, in which the
requisition was made; that the Petitioner is in no way
connected with the said Crime; and that the debit
freezing/lien of the account is in violation of Sections 106
& 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
(BNSS) and Article 300A of the Constitution of India.
2. The learned Counsel for the Respondent/Bank, after
getting instructions from the Bank, confirmed that the Bank
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has received a Requisition from the Respondent No.6 for
an amount of Rs.1,400/- for marking lien/freeze in the
account of the Petitioner mentioned in the Writ Petition, and
hence, the Bank has effected freezing of the account of the
Petitioner.
3. The issue is covered by the decisions of this Court in Dr.
Sajeer v. Reserve Bank of India [2024 (1) KLT 826], Nazeer K.T. v.
Manager, Federal Bank, Makkaraparamba Branch [2024 KHC 768]
and Abhiraj Rajan v. State of Kerala [2025 KHC 1676]. This Court
has been consistently issuing the directions to the effect
that the Bank is to permit the account holder to operate his
account, limiting the lien to the amounts shown in the
Requisitions received by the Bank so long as the Bank
does not have any suspicion that the account is used for
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any financial cybercrime activities or money mule activities,
making the frozen/lien marked amount at the disposal of
the jurisdictional Magistrate's Court.
4. Recently, the Indian Cyber Crime Co-Ordination Centre of
the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has
formulated an SOP for NCRP - CFCFRMS, Custody, Restoration
of Money and Grievance Redressal 2026 to establish a fair and
transparent system that prescribes a uniform process to be
followed by all the Participating Entities. The SOP includes
procedures to prevent misuse of the system of putting on
hold an amount, seizure of an account and any property to
help the victims of Cyber-Enabled Financial Crimes
(CEFC), and to give interim custody of the amount to the
victim and restoration of such property while ensuring
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accountability of all the participants for their action and
inaction and providing avenues for time-bound grievance
redressal for parties affected by actions taken based on
information provided by the system. It is intended that
States and UTs, working with other Participating Entities,
follow the SOP and are successful in preventing defrauded
money from leaving the financial system, giving interim
custody and restoration of the amount to the victim, and, in
the process, help create a cybercrime-resilient financial
ecosystem.
5. Clause 10 of the SOP provides for a time-bound Grievance
Redressal Mechanism for the Account Holders in whose
accounts the amounts are put on hold or whose account
operation is suspended. It is for the Petitioner to work out
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his remedies in accordance with Clause 10 of the SOP,
with respect to the frozen/lien/hold amount.
6. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is disposed of with the
following directions:
i) The Respondent/Bank is directed to permit the Petitioner to
operate the account mentioned in this Writ Petition maintained
by the Petitioner with it, limiting the freeze/lien/hold to the
aforesaid amount.
ii) The disposal of the frozen/lien/hold amount shall be in
accordance with the above SOP.
iii) Petitioner is free to redress his grievance through the
Grievance Redressal Mechanism provided under Clause 10 of
the above SOP with respect to the frozen/lien/hold amount.
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iv) The Respondent/Bank is free to effect further lien/hold/freeze
in case of receipt of future requisitions.
Sd/-
M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM
JUDGE
Jma
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APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 3982 OF 2026
PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS
Exhibit P1 TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION ISSUED BY
THE 6TH RESPONDENT REGARDING MARKING LIEN
ON PETITIONER'S ACCOUNT.
Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF INTIMATION OF LIEN/FREEZE
ISSUED TO THE PETITIONER BY THE 4TH
RESPONDENT BANK.
