Banks must unfreeze accounts while preserving only the disputed amount in fixed deposit.

The petitioner filed a petition under Article 226 seeking removal of the hold on his Kotak Mahindra Bank account No. 5850062291

He relied on Malcolm Murayis & Ors. v. State Bank of India and Others and on the later decision in Archana v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others, which addressed the Government’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for grievances concerning bank-account holds in cybercrime cases

The disputed amount identified in this petition was Rs. 2,000

1. Whether the petitioner’s account should be unfrozen while the identified disputed amount is secured separately

2. Whether the disputed amount should remain secured pending action by the competent Judicial Magistrate under the applicable law

Under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court may grant appropriate relief concerning a bank-account hold.

The Court applied Malcolm Murayis, which directed that a disputed amount be kept in a fixed deposit pending orders of the competent Judicial Magistrate within three months, failing which it could be withdrawn by the account holder subject to intimation to the investigating agency

It also applied, mutatis mutandis, Archana, which considered the Ministry of Home Affairs’ SOP dated 10 April 2026 and set out a grievance-redressal framework emphasizing proportionate restraints on accounts and preservation of only the amount necessary for investigation

The Court expected the police agency to proceed under the relevant provisions of the BNSS or other applicable law

The Court considered Malcolm Murayis and Archana applicable to the petitioner’s case

It identified the disputed amount as Rs. 2,000 and directed that this sum be secured in a fixed deposit, rather than continuing the hold on the petitioner’s account.

The Court also preserved the Bank’s ability to act lawfully if it received a complaint concerning another transaction

If no such orders were passed within that period, the amount could be withdrawn by the petitioner after informing the police agency

The petition was disposed of.