IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 25^TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 12586 OF 2025 BETWEEN:

1. AXIS BANK LTD A BANKING COMPANY CARRYING ON THE BANKING BUSINESS UNDER THE BANKING REGULATION ACT 1956 AND HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT TRISHUL, 3RD FLOOR OPPOSITE SAMARTHESHWAR TEMPLE LAW GARDEN, ELLIS BRIDGE AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT-380006.

AND HAVING ONE OF ITS BRANCH OFFICER AT GROUND FLOOR, VILL. ASUDEVPUR CHAPUTA HAJIPUR-MAHUA ROAD PO-RAJOLI, DISTRICT VAISHALI Digitally signed BIHAR -844102.

by CHAITHRA A Location: HIGH COURT OF REPRESENTED BY ITS BRANCH HEAD KARNATAKA MR ABHISHEK KALYANI AGED ABOUT 42 YEARS ALSO AT:

S/O MOHAN PRASAD KALYANI Q NO.325, SECTOR-3 E BOKARO STEEL CITY, JHARKHAND-827003 …PETITIONER (BY SRI. UNNIKRISHNAN .M, ADVOCATE)

AND:

1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA BY SOUTH EAST CEN CRIME POLICE STATION SOUTH EAST DIVISION, BANGALORE CITY REPRESENTED BY SPP HON'BLE HIGH CORUT OF KARNATAKA BANGALORE-01.

2. SANALDAS .K.V AGED ABOUT 32 YEARS S/O BALASUBRAMANIAN RESIDING AT NO.94, 6TH CROSS NAGANATHAPURA SOUTH BENGALURU-560100 KARNATAKA.

…RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. RAHUL RAI .K, HCGP FOR R1)

THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 482 CR.PC (FILED U/S 528 BNSS) PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE ORDER DATED 16.01.2025 PASSED BY THE HONBLE 45TH ACJM, BENGALURU IN CR.NO.839/2024 i.e., ANNEXURE-C IN TERMS OF WHICH THE PETITIONER IS DIRECTED TO DEFREEZE THE SAVINGS/CURRENT ACCOUNT BEARING NO.924010016697933 MAINTAINED IN THE PETITIONER'S BANK AND TRANSFER THE SAME TO THE ACCOUNT OF RESPONDENT NO.2.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM

ORAL ORDER

The captioned petition is filed by the petitioner – a Scheduled Commercial Bank/Financial Institution, assailing the legality and validity of the order dated 16.01.2025 passed by the Court of the 45^th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bengaluru in Crime No.839/2024. By the impugned order, the learned Magistrate directed the petitioner-Bank to defreeze the current account bearing No.924010016697933, maintained in the petitioner’s branch, standing in the name of the accused.

2. The petitioner-Bank is gravely aggrieved by the impugned order essentially on the ground that it was passed without affording the Bank an opportunity of hearing, though the directions were addressed exclusively to it. It is the specific grievance of the petitioner-Bank that the order was made at the instance of respondent No.2 – the complainant, without impleading or notifying the petitioner-Bank, which is a necessary stakeholder.

3. Learned High Court Government Pleader, placing reliance on orders passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in similar and analogous matters, submitted that in identical circumstances, this Court has interfered with such orders and has remitted the matter back to the jurisdictional Magistrate for fresh consideration of applications filed under Sections 451 and 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“Cr.P.C.”). In those cases, this Court has consistently taken the view that since directions are issued to the Financial Institutions to defreeze accounts, they are indispensable parties to such proceedings, and hence the principles of natural justice require that they be heard before any coercive direction is issued.

4. The petitioner-Bank has further urged that there are multiple criminal cases registered against the accused, not only within the State of Karnataka but also across various jurisdictions in the country. In several of these cases, different courts have issued orders directing the petitioner-Bank to defreeze the bank accounts of the accused and transfer the balances to the respective complainants. In the absence of being heard in each proceeding, the petitioner-Bank finds itself unable to effectively and uniformly comply with these multiple and sometimes conflicting orders, thereby exposing itself to unnecessary prejudice and