2025 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 53474

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM, J
JAGANNATHAN C.S. – Appellant
Versus
THE FEDERAL BANK LTD. – Respondent
WP(C) NO. 19394 OF 2025

The court cannot exercise discretion to unfreeze a bank account linked to a serious cybercrime investigation where the accused is uncooperative.

Headnote:Statute Analysis refers to Article 226 of the Constitution regarding the exercise of discretion by the court in such matters. The petitioner sought the unfreezing of funds in his bank account linked to cybercrime. The findings indicated the petitioner was the accused in an active investigation related to the crime. The court determined that discretion should not be exercised under the given circumstances, which led to the dismissal of the petition. Issues framed involved the appropriateness of judicial intervention in pending criminal investigations. The court reasoned that in light of the serious criminal allegations and the petitioner's lack of cooperation during investigations, the petitioner's request to unfreeze his account was not warranted.

Result: The Writ Petition is dismissed.