IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision:- 23.02.2026 GURPREET SINGH ... Petitioner Versus HDFC BANK AND ORS ... Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUVIR SEHGAL Present:- Ms. Jasmine Garg, Advocate (through video conferencing) and Ms. Yukta Garg, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Nitin Thatai, Advocate (through video conferencing) and Mr. Karan Sharma, Advocate for respondents Nos.1 and 2.

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SUVIR SEHGAL, J. ( ORAL )

1. This petition has been filed, inter alia, for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing respondent No.2-bank to defreeze petitioner’s salary account maintained with HDFC Bank Ltd., Court Road, Amritsar.

2. Counsel for the petitioner states that petitioner maintains salary account No.50100182361925 with respondent No.2-bank. He states that in September 2025 petitioner discovered that the said account had been debit- frozen without any prior notice or intimation, petitioner was informed that the freeze was applied on the basis of alleged four cyber fraud complaints, reflecting credits of Rs.2,250/-, Rs.2,250/-, Rs.720/- and Rs.720/-. Counsel has made a categoric assertion that there is no allegation of fraud against the petitioner, nor has petitioner been named as an accused in the said complaints.

3. Upon instructions from Shilpa Wadhwa, Branch Operations Manager, counsel for respondents No.1 & 2-bank states that the freeze has been applied on the basis of communications received from Karnataka and Maharashtra Cyber Crime Authorities, and that the total disputed amount is Rs.5,940/-.

4. I have heard counsel for the parties and considered their respective submissions.

5. An investigating agency can debit freeze or attach a bank account upon obtaining an order from the jurisdictional Magistrate in terms of Section 107 of BNSS, 2023, as has been held in Mr. Kartik Yogeshwar Chatur and others Versus Union of India and others, Law Finder Doc Id #2812474. No such order could be brought to the notice of this Court by counsel for the respondents No.1 & 2.

6. Keeping in view the observations made by a co-ordinate Bench of this Court in CWP-3464-2024 titled as Jaspreet Singh Versus Union of India and others, decided on 05.07.2024, respondent No.2-bank is directed to defreeze salary account No.50100182361925. Bank will, however, keep a lien of the disputed amount, i.e. Rs.5,940/-, and petitioner would be at liberty to utilize the remaining balance amount lying in his account, without prejudice to any other attachment order or any order for freezing the account.

7. Writ petition is disposed of.

(SUVIR SEHGAL)

JUDGE

23.02.2026 parul verma