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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
V.G. ARUN
Nazeer KT, S/o. Abdul Kadar – Appellant
Versus
Manager, Federal Bank, Makkaraparamba Branch, Kerala – Respondent
Key Points: - The police must report the seizure to the Magistrate forthwith and inform banks; total failure to report affects seizure validity. (!) (!) - Section 102 Cr.P.C. provides police power to seize property and requires forthwith reporting; delays may be irregular but do not automatically vitiate seizure, unless total non-compliance is proven. (!) (!) (!) - If no information is received by banks within eight months or within specified time, banks may take action per directions to lift freeze. (!) - Directions require banks to confine freeze to specified amounts and await police/intimation; police to inform banks on continuation or removal of freeze within eight months. (!) (!) (!) - The judgment reinforces that abject violation of Section 102 procedures will affect seizure validity under Article 300A; delays should be examined for explanation, with possible departmental action against erring officials. (!) - If no timely compliance is reported within one month of judgment, banks shall lift the debit freeze. (!) - Banks and petitioners must serve copies of the judgment to the concerned officer to facilitate compliance. (!)
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. freezing of bank account due to police requisition. (Para 1) |
| 2. petitioner's reference to previous case outcomes. (Para 2) |
| 3. court's agreement with existing directives on account freezing. (Para 3 , 5) |
| 4. seizure procedures under section 102 cr.p.c. (Para 6 , 7) |
| 5. court clarifies actions to be taken if no police compliance. (Para 8) |
JUDGMENT :
V.G. ARUN, J.
The petitioner is aggrieved by the sudden freezing of his account by the bank based on requisitions/intimation received from the police. The police in turn has acted on the basis of Cyber Crime Incident Reports filed by persons subjected to online financial fraud/UPI fraud.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that this Court in Dr.Sajeer v. Reserve Bank of India [ 2024 (1) KLT 826 ] has addressed the plight of similarly situated persons, and after elaborately dealing with the revolutionary change in money transactions with the advent of Unified Payment Interface (UPI for short), as also the positives and negatives of UPI transactions in the context of Cyber crimes and Online fraud, the writ petitions were disposed of with certain directions. The petitioner also is seeking disposal of his case in the sam
Police must report account seizures to the magistrate; failure to comply impacts seizure validity, reaffirming individual rights against unregulated actions.
The court established that while delays in reporting bank account seizures do not invalidate the action, failure to report affects the legality of the seizure under Section 102 of the Cr.P.C.
The court established that while delay in reporting a seizure under Section 102 Cr.P.C. does not invalidate it, total failure to report affects its validity, emphasizing the need for police complianc....
The court established that a bank account can be frozen under suspicion of criminal activity, and failure to report the freeze to the Magistrate does not invalidate the action.
Term ‘forthwith’ only requires that the act should be performed with reasonable speed and any delay in the matter should be satisfactorily explained.
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