The court ruled that investigators must not freeze an entire account over a disputed transaction when a lien on the sum can protect the probe without cutting off a government employee’s income.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has said investigators cannot impose a blanket debit freeze on an entire bank account simply because one credit is under scrutiny in a cybercrime probe, particularly when that account is a government employee’s only source of income. In a ruling reported by ANI, Justice Sandeep Sharma ordered State Bank of India to lift the full freeze on Patwari Shiv Singh’s salary account, while allowing the bank to keep a lien on the disputed sum.
The case arose after Singh’s account was blocked over a Rs 21,000 credit linked to Yono Games, an online gaming application. According to ANI, the transaction was flagged in cybercrime complaints connected with Thane in Maharashtra and Malkajgiri in Telangana. Singh told the court that the freeze had left him unable to meet basic household costs, medical bills, school fees and loan instalments.
The court said investigative agencies do have the power to secure accounts in cybercrime matters, but that those powers must be used proportionately and with proper regard for the account holder’s circumstances. According to reports by Himachalscape, The News Mill and UNI, the bench pointed to less restrictive options such as placing a lien only on the disputed amount, rather than cutting off access to salary and legitimate savings.
The judgment also drew on constitutional protections and earlier decisions from the Delhi and Kerala High Courts, which have taken the view that courts should distinguish between the allegedly tainted money and the rest of an account holder’s funds. By allowing the SBI account to function again while preserving a hold on the disputed Rs 21,000, the High Court sought to keep the investigation alive without, in its words, unfairly undermining Singh’s livelihood.
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