Kerala High Court
Anjith vs The National Cybercrime Reporting ... on 9 March, 2026
2026:KER:20843
WPC No.637 of 2026
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM
MONDAY, THE 9TH DAY OF MARCH 2026 / 18TH PHALGUNA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 637 OF 2026
PETITIONER
ANJITH,
AGED 55 YEARS,
PUTHIYA PARAMBATH PALAZHI PALA, GURUVAYURAPPAN
COLLEGE P.O, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673014
BY ADV SHRI.SACHIN GEORGE ARAMBAN
RESPONDENTS
1 THE NATIONAL CYBERCRIME REPORTING PORTAL,
REPRESENTED BY ITS NODAL OFFICER,
NATIONAL HIGHWAY -8, MAHIPALPUR, NEW DELHI,
PIN - 110037
2 STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOME
SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695001
3 THE STATE POLICE CHIEF,
POLICE HEAD QUARTERS, VAZHUTHACAD,
THIRUVANATHAPURAM,
PIN - 695014
4 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
PATHEERANKAVU POLICE STATION, PATHEENRANKAVU,
KOZHIKODE,
PIN - 673019
2026:KER:20843
WPC No.637 of 2026
2
5 THE SOUTH INDIAN BANK LTD,
REPRESENTED BY MANAGER, HEAD OFFICE, S.I.B HOUSE,
T.B. ROAD, P.B. NO.28, THRISSUR,
PIN - 680001
6 THE BRANCH MANAGER,
THE SOUTH INDIAN BANK LTD, ST.JOSEPH COLLEGE EC
BRANCH, DEVAGIRI COLLEGE P.O, NEAR GOVT. MEDICAL
COLLEGE, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673008
7 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
EAST CYBER POLICE STATION, SHIVAJINAGAR POLICE
STATION COMPOUND, GOVANDI, MUMBAI,MAHARASHTRA,
PIN - 400043
ADDL.R8 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
OUTER NORTH, CYBER CRIME POLICE STATION,
OUTER NORTH DISTRICT, BAWANA, NEW DELHI- 110039
(ADDL.R8 IS IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER IN IA NO.2/2026
IN WPC NO.637/2026)
ADDL.R9 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
DEHRADUN AND RISHIKESH CYBER POLICE STATION,
GANDHI ROAD, NEAR FIRE STATION, DHAMAWALA MOHALLA,
PALTAN BAZAAR, DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND- 248001
(ADDL.R9 IS IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER IN IA NO.2/2026
IN WPC NO.637/2026)
BY ADVS.
SHRI.VISHNU PRADEEP, CGC
SHRI.SUNIL SHANKER
SMT.VIDYA GANGADHARAN
SHRI.THOMAS GLAISON
SRI.TONY AUGUSTINE,GP
SMT. K.M RASHMI - SR.GP
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 09.03.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
2026:KER:20843
WPC No.637 of 2026
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JUDGMENT
Dated this the 9th day of March, 2026
1. The Petitioner has filed this Writ Petition challenging the debit freezing/lien of his Bank account with the Respondent/Bank at the requisition of the Police Authorities. The case of the Petitioner is that the Petitioner is not an accused in the Crime registered by the Police authorities against some other persons, in which the requisition was made; that the Petitioner is in no way connected with the said Crime; and that the debit freezing/lien of the account is in violation of Sections 106 & 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and Article 300A of the Constitution of India.
2. Learned CGC for the Respondent No.1, with reference to the Statement dated 02.03.2026 by the Respondent No.1, submitted that out of the transaction amount of Rs.1,509/- in the Requisition from Respondent No.7, the disputed amount 2026:KER:20843 WPC No.637 of 2026 4 is only Rs.453.60, and the disputed amount in the Requisition of the Respondent No.9 is Rs.2,00,000/-.
3. The learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent No.5/Bank submitted that Requisitions are received from the Respondents Nos.7 and 8 for Rs.453.60 and Rs.7,000/- and no Requisition is received from the Respondent No.9. In view of the submissions made by the CGC and the Standing Counsel for the Respondent No.5/Bank, the aforesaid three amounts of Rs.453.60, Rs.7,000/- and Rs.2,00,000/- are taken as the lien amounts with respect to the account of the Petitioner.
4. The issue is covered by the decisions of this Court in Dr. Sajeer v. Reserve Bank of India [2024 (1) KLT 826], Nazeer K.T. v. Manager, Federal Bank, Makkaraparamba Branch [2024 KHC 768] and Abhiraj Rajan v. State of Kerala [2025 KHC 1676]. This Court has been consistently issuing the directions to the effect that the Bank is to permit the account holder to operate his account, limiting the lien to the amounts shown in the Requisitions 2026:KER:20843 WPC No.637 of 2026 5 received by the Bank so long as the Bank does not have any suspicion that the account is used for any financial cybercrime activities or money mule activities, making the frozen/lien marked amount at the disposal of the jurisdictional Magistrate's Court.
5. Recently, the Indian Cyber Crime Co-Ordination Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has formulated an SOP for NCRP - CFCFRMS, Custody, Restoration of Money and Grievance Redressal 2026 to establish a fair and transparent system that prescribes a uniform process to be followed by all the Participating Entities. The SOP includes procedures to prevent misuse of the system of putting on hold an amount, seizure of an account and any property to help the victims of Cyber-Enabled Financial Crimes (CEFC), and to give interim custody of the amount to the victim and restoration of such property while ensuring accountability of all the participants for their action and inaction and providing 2026:KER:20843 WPC No.637 of 2026 6 avenues for time-bound grievance redressal for parties affected by actions taken based on information provided by the system. It is intended that States and UTs, working with other Participating Entities, follow the SOP and are successful in preventing defrauded money from leaving the financial system, giving interim custody and restoration of the amount to the victim, and, in the process, help create a cybercrime- resilient financial ecosystem.
6. Clause 10 of the SOP provides for a time-bound Grievance Redressal Mechanism for the Account Holders in whose accounts the amounts are put on hold or whose account operation is suspended. It is for the Petitioner to work out his remedies in accordance with Clause 10 of the SOP, with respect to the frozen/lien/hold amount.
7. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is disposed of with the following directions:
i) The Respondent/Bank is directed to permit the Petitioner to 2026:KER:20843 WPC No.637 of 2026 7 operate the account mentioned in this Writ Petition maintained by the Petitioner with it, limiting the lien to the aforesaid amount.
ii) The disposal of the frozen/lien/hold amount shall be in accordance with the above SOP.
iii) Petitioner is free to redress his grievance through the Grievance Redressal Mechanism provided under Clause 10 of the above SOP with respect to the frozen/lien/hold amount.
iv) The Respondent/Bank is free to effect further lien/hold/freeze in case of receipt of future requisitions.
Sd/-
M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM JUDGE Cak 2026:KER:20843 WPC No.637 of 2026 8 APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 637 OF 2026 PETITIONER EXHIBITS EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE FRONT PAGE OF THE PASSBOOK EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE E-MAIL COMMUNICATION OF LIEN MARKING OF ACCOUNT ISSUED TO THE PETITIONER AS AGAINST THE CRIME REGISTERED BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT