MP HC Unfreezes Man’s Bank Account, Removes Matured-FD Lien But Keeps Disputed ₹1 Lakh in FD Pending Magistrate’s Order

The petitioner invoked Article 226 seeking removal of a debit freeze/lien affecting the matured proceeds of Fixed Deposit No. 00000043915461760, credited to his State Bank of India account, and permission to operate the account.

He submitted that his case was covered by *Malcolm Murayis & Ors. v. State Bank of India & Others*, W.P. No. 1100 of 2024, and relied on the later decision in *Archana v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Others*, concerning the Government’s cybercrime account-freeze grievance redressal SOP.

The Court treated Rs. 1,00,000 as the disputed amount.

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

*Malcolm Murayis* established that a disputed cybercrime-linked amount may be preserved in a fixed deposit, subject to timely action by the competent Judicial Magistrate; failing such action within three months, the amount may be released to the account holder under intimation to the cybercrime agencies.

The SOP dated 10 April 2026 and the guidelines discussed in *Archana* require account freezes to be proportionate, ordinarily limited to the suspected amount, and subject to the prescribed grievance process and applicable legal procedure.

The Court also referred to action under the relevant provisions of the BNSS or other applicable law.

The Court considered the petitioner’s case covered, *mutatis mutandis*, by *Malcolm Murayis* and *Archana*.

Applying their approach, it directed preservation of the identified disputed sum of Rs. 1,00,000 in a fixed deposit rather than continued restraint over the petitioner’s account and the matured fixed-deposit proceeds. The amount is to remain preserved pending orders of the competent Judicial Magistrate within three months; if no such orders are passed within that period, it may be withdrawn by the petitioner under intimation to the police agency.

The petitioner’s bank account is to be unfrozen, the lien on the matured fixed-deposit amount removed, and the petitioner permitted to operate the account.

The Bank may act in accordance with law if it receives a complaint concerning another transaction, having regard to the SOP discussed in *Archana*.