The main legal point established in the judgment is that the freezing of bank accounts under Section 102 of the Cr.P.C. must comply with the mandatory reporting requirements to the concerned Magistrate. Failure to comply with these requirements renders the freezing of bank accounts legally unsustainable.

JUDGMENT :

CHANDER SHEKHAR, J.

1. The petitioner has assailed the order dated 2.8.2018 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Dwarka Court, New Delhi (hereinafter to be referred as ‘impugned order’) whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge has set aside the order dated 17.3.2018 passed by the learned Metropolitan Magistrate.

2. The learned Metropolitan Magistrate, Dwarka Courts, vide order dated 17.3.2018 allowed the application filed by the petitioner and directed the Investigating Officer (IO) to defreeze the accounts of the petitioner Muktaben which had been seized/debit-freezed by the concerned I.O. under Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“Cr.P.C”) and dismissed the application filed by respondent No. 2 praying for release of case property i.e. money lying in the bank accounts debit freezed by the IO during investigation.

3. Aggrieved by the order of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, the respondent No. 2 filed a criminal revision petition, which was allowed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge vide the impugned order, whereby the order of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate was set aside and the matter was remanded back to the trial Court to decide the application of the respondent no. 2 afresh after conducting inquiry under Section 457(2) Cr.P.C.

4. Briefly stated, the facts of the case, as per the Status Report, are that the respondent No. 2 had got an FIR No. 627/2015, registered against the grandson of the petitioner for the offence under Sections 498A/406/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). According to the complaint, it was alleged that accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar (husband of respondent No. 2) had forced and coerced respondent No. 2, Pooja Sharma to hand over an amount of Rs. 25 lacs awarded to her by the Haryana Government as well as the amount of Rs. 30 lacs kept in a Fixed Deposit in her name, deposited by her father.

5. During investigation, bank statement of respondent no. 2/complainant was obtained. On analysis of bank statement of respondent No. 2, it was found that on 23.4.2011, Rs. 15 lacs were deposited in the account of complainant vide FD No. 91104002159 and on 30.4.2011, Rs. 15 lacs were deposited in the account of complainant vide FD No. 91104002275. Further, on 18.1.2012, Rs. 25 lacs were deposited in the account of the complainant and that was the same amount given to her by the Haryana Government.

6. The details of bank account No. 20039082561 (SBI Bank) of accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar was also obtained and analysed. It was found that on 20.1.2012, amount of Rs. 20 lacs was transferred in the account of accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar from the account of complainant through cheque bearing No. 061691. On the next day, accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar withdrew the amount of Rs. 20 lacs from his account and after one and a half month, on 12.3.2012 accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar, opened a joint account in Yes Bank in the name of the petitioner, who is his maternal grandmother, and himself. On the same day, accused transferred Rs. 25,000/- in this joint account from his SBI account. Thereafter, on 15.3.2012, accused transferred Rs. 20 lacs in this joint account of Yes Bank from his SBI account through cheque No. 852691.

7. It is further mentioned in the status report that it is evident from the transactions of the various bank accounts that accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar dishonestly misappropriated the money of the complainant. He deposited the amount, which he had taken from the complainant, in different Banks in different forms, i.e. Fixed Deposit, cash deposit in joint accounts of his maternal grandmother i.e. the petitioner, Muktaben and himself.

8. Upon interrogation, the husband of respondent No. 2 failed to produce any proof regarding the money and hence, for the recovery of the misappropriated amount of the complainant, six joint bank accounts of accused Piyush Bhai Thakkar, petitioner bearing no. 913010041032178, 915010058850066, 914040008866743, 914040036492088, 9143030037694035