Oral Order

1. The present Special Civil Application is filed praying for the following reliefs:-

          "11A. YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to direct the Respondents to Unfreeze the account of petitioner with respondent No.2 1.e. HDFC Bank (At Annexure B) bearing A/C No. 50100660612841 forthwith;

          B. Pending admission and Final hearing, YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to direct the respondent to unfreeze the A/C No. as no.2 bank petitioner's bank account (At Annexure B) bearing A/C No. as 50100660612841 forthwith by keeping the disputed account of Rs. 10,000/- on hold;

          C. Your Lordships be pleased to grant such and further relief/s as may be deemed fit in the interest of justice."

2. The factual matrix of the present writ petition is that, the petitioner is holding a savings bank account bearing No. 50100660612841 with HDFC Bank, Deesa Branch, District Banaskantha, which he uses for his day-to-day and medical expenses. The petitioner approached this Hon'ble Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a direction to unfreeze his bank account, which was debit-freezed by the respondent No.2 bank pursuant to directions issued by the respondent No. 1 authority in connection with an alleged cyber fraud involving a disputed amount of Rs.10,000/-. It is the petitioner's case that he has no involvement whatsoever in any cyber fraud. Due to his inability to visit the bank personally, he had handed over Rs.60,000/- to a third party for deposit, who instead transferred the amount to the petitioner's account from his own bank account, out of which Rs.10,000/- came to be marked as disputed. Despite the petitioner submitting detailed representations requesting that only the disputed amount be kept frozen and the remaining balance be released to meet his essential expenses, no action was taken by the respondent authority, resulting in continued freezing of the entire account and causing hardship to the petitioner.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that no reasons have been informed by the respondent No.1 about the debit freeze of the petitioners' bank account, which is their hard earned saving. He has further submitted that the disputed amount is only of Rs.10,000/-, which is a suspicious transaction as per the information received by the from the respondent No. 2 bank, however, the same has resulted into freezing of the entire saving bank account of the petitioners. He submits that the petitioners undertake that the bank may freeze the amount of suspicious transaction and rest of the money in the saving bank account of the petitioners be made available to them.

4. Though served, the respondent No.1 has not appeared. Respondent No.2 bank have submitted that appropriate orders may be passed.

5. Heard learned counsels for the parties and perused the documents on record.

6. It appears that in some criminal investigation undertaken by the respondent No.1, it has transpired that some amount of the crime proceeds has been transferred to the bank account of the petitioners. Accordingly, the respondent No.1 has made a communication dated 29.10.2025 to the respondent No.2 bank to debit freeze the above account till the completion of the investigation. The petitioner has given a statement that an amount of Rs.60,000/- has been received in the petitioner's account of which Rs. 10,000/- is suspected to be part of the crime proceeds. For such amount, the complete bank account of the petitioners has been freezed pending the investigation. Freezing of the bank account has resulted into freezing of the savings of the petitioners as well as affecting their livelihood and business.

7. The statute empowers the investigating agency to request the bank for freezing of the bank account pending investigation. The said action is also coupled with a duty to intimate the same forthwith to the Court having jurisdiction in such crime. Further, there cannot be freezing of the account by the Investigating Officer perpetually and without intimating to such account holder as to the reason why the bank account has been freezed and to what extent it has been freezed. In the present case, the intimation to freeze the account vide notice under Section 94 and 106 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 has been intimated by the respondent No.1 to the respondent No.2 bank on 29.10.2025. However, despite repeated requests from the petitioners, till date, the respondent No.1 has not intimated any details to the petitioners as to why the bank account of the petitioners has been freezed and for how long the said account will be kept under freeze.

8. This Court is of the considered opinion that an order/ notice freezing the entire account of the citizen during an investigation without quantifying the amount and the period is in violation of the citizen's fundamental right to trade, business and livelihood as such an action results in untold hardship to the person having serious and adverse implications on the person and his family. The said action undermines his right to earn and live with dignity which is an integral part of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Further, the continued freezing of the entire bank account without intimation of involvement of the petitioner being an accused or accomplice in the crime or he has knowingly received the funds as part of any illegal activity will also render such an action to be bad in law and cannot be justified or sustained.

9. In the factual matrix of the present case and taking into consideration the communications placed on record and further so as to meet with the ends of justice, this Court directs the respondent Nos.1 and 2 to defreeze the bank account of the petitioners mentioned in the notice dated 29.10.2025 by marking a lien restricted to the disputed amount credited in their account which is stated to be Rs10,000/-. The said amount shall remain as a lien till the investigation by the respondent No.1 is over. As a necessary corollary, the petitioner is permitted to operate his bank account fully, except the lien amount of Rs.10,000/-.

For the aforesaid reasons and observations, the writ petition stands disposed of in above mentioned terms. No order as to costs.