Freezing bank accounts without direct nexus to alleged offences violates the fundamental right to carry on business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.

ORDER :

Dinesh Mehta, J.

I.A. No.01/2025 in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.6556/2025:-

1. For the reasons stated, the application (I.A. No.01/2025) seeking amendment in the cause title, is allowed.

2. Amended cause title filed along with the present application is taken on record.

3. The petitioners have approached this Court with a grievance that in spite of the fact that they have not been found involved in fraudulent transactions; any illegal activities or a Cyber crime, the respondent-Banks have frozen their bank account(s) without any intimation/prior notice.

4. Mr. Deepak Vyas and Mr. Arpit Mehta and other counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent-Banks submitted that the bank account(s) of these petitioners have been freezed and transactions therein have been stopped in light of the instructions/ directions which they have received from various Investigating Officer(s) and agencies from all parts of the country.

5. Mr. Vyas submitted that notices under section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short ‘Code of 1973’) (section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ) have been received by the respondent-Banks and since the bank account(s) fall within the phrase ‘any property’, within the scope of section 102 of the Code of 1973, the respondent-Banks have no other option but to freeze the bank accounts of the petitioners and stop the operation therein.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners at this juncture prayed that the issue as to whether the Investigating Agency can freeze the account and stop all the debit transactions in petitioners’ bank account(s), without their being any direct nexus with the offence or the offenders, can be decided at later point of time; however, a direction be issued to respondent-banks to allow the petitioners to operate their bank account(s), may be with a stipulation that they would keep a lien over the disputed amount or the amount which is alleged to be receipt(s) of offence.

7. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and considering that the petitioners herein are not directly involved in the fraudulent transactions or with cyber fraudster, this Court is of the view that simply because in one form or other, the amount has been transferred to petitioners’ bank account(s), consequent to bonafide business transactions, freezing of the entire bank account(s) and the complete embargo on the transactions, amounts to violation of fundamental right to carry business guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.

8. Stay applications (S.B. Civil Misc. Stay Petition Nos.7421/2025, 7436/2025, 7448/2025, 7658/2025, 5110/2025, 6772/2025, 6490/2025, 7236/2025, 8199/2025, 8607/2025) stand disposed of, while observing that the respondent-banks shall keep lien of the amount to the extent it relates to receipt(s) of offence. Keeping such amount under lien, the respondents-Banks shall allow the petitioners to operate their bank accounts over and above such amount in accordance with law.

9. In all those cases, where the respondent-banks have not received the exact amount, which the Investigating Officer alleges to be receipt(s) of crime or offenders, the banks shall send a communication to the corresponding Investigating Officer/authority to indicate the amount to be earmarked for lien, while endorsing a copy of the order instant.

10. It shall be required of the concerned Investigating Officer/authority to apprise the respondent-banks about the amount to be kept in lien within a period of seven days of receiving the communication from the respondent-banks. The respondent-banks shall thereafter do the needful as directed hereinabove.

11. So far as the powers of the Investigating Officers and the bank’s obligation to stop operation of petitioners’ bank accounts are concerned, the same needs dilated deliberation for which reply of the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) and Union of India (UOI) would be necessary.

12. A copy of the order instant and copy of the writ petition (S.B. Ci