Jaipur, September 12 (Patrika English News): The Rajasthan High Court has provided relief to a kachori seller whose entire bank account was frozen over a disputed transaction linked to a cyber fraud case. The court directed that the account be de-frozen, while clarifying that the petitioner cannot close the account without the investigating agency’s approval.
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand passed the order while hearing the plea of Padam Kumar Jain. The court also asked lawyers handling similar cases to assist in the matter during the first week of October. In addition, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Reserve Bank of India were asked to apprise the court of existing guidelines on such cases.
According to advocate Akshat Sharma, a suspicious transaction of ?5,000 was cited by Bank of Maharashtra to freeze the petitioner’s account on instructions from Telangana Police, which is probing a cybercrime case involving fraud worth crores. The account freeze had severely impacted the petitioner’s business operations.
Opposing the plea, advocate Himanshu Tholia, representing the bank, said the account was frozen based on SOPs issued for cybercrime investigations. He argued that if accounts are not fully frozen, fraudsters could siphon off funds, leaving the bank liable.
After hearing both sides, the court ordered the account to be de-frozen while permitting action against the petitioner if his involvement is established during the probe.