MP HC Unfreezes Man’s Bank Account, Directs Bank To Keep Disputed ₹1,000 In FD Pending Magistrate’s Order Within 3 Months

The petitioner sought relief under Article 226 of the Constitution for unfreezing his bank account.

Relying on Malcolm Murayis v. State Bank of India and the later order in Archana v. State of Madhya Pradesh, he submitted that those decisions applied to his case.

The Court recorded that the disputed amount identified in the petition was Rs. 1,000 and that the account should be unfrozen, subject to preservation of that amount.

Article 226 empowers the High Court to grant appropriate relief where a bank-account freeze causes hardship and the circumstances warrant judicial intervention.

The Court applied Malcolm Murayis v. State Bank of India, which directed that disputed funds be kept in fixed deposit pending timely action by the competent Judicial Magistrate.

It also applied Archana v. State of Madhya Pradesh and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Standard Operating Procedure dated 10 April 2026, which require account freezes in cyber-crime cases to be handled proportionately and through the prescribed grievance mechanism.

The investigating agency is expected to proceed under the relevant provisions of the BNSS or other applicable law; where it fails to obtain the requisite judicial order within three months, the amount kept in fixed deposit may be released to the account holder.

The Court considered the principles in Malcolm Murayis and Archana applicable mutatis mutandis to the petitioner’s case.

It balanced preservation of the identified disputed amount against the petitioner’s ability to operate the account: Rs. 1,000 was to remain secured in a fixed deposit, while the account itself was to be unfrozen.

If another complaint concerning a different transaction were received, the bank could take appropriate action in accordance with law and the SOP.

The police were allowed three months to proceed before the competent Judicial Magistrate; absent the requisite order within that period, the fixed-deposit amount could also be withdrawn by the petitioner, with intimation to the police agency.

The amount may be liquidated only after orders of the competent Judicial Magistrate, expected within three months; failing such an order, the petitioner may withdraw it after informing the police agency.

The petition was disposed of accordingly.