Kerala High Court
Nucleus Premium Properties vs The National Cybercrime Reporting ... on 24 March, 2026
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.A.ABDUL HAKHIM
TUESDAY, THE 24TH DAY OF MARCH 2026 / 3RD CHAITHRA, 1948
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026
PETITIONER:
NUCLEUS PREMIUM PROPERTIES
REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING PARTNER, NISHAD N.P,
3RD FLOOR, J C CHAMBERS, PANAMPILLY NAGAR,
ERNAKULAM, KOCHI., PIN - 682036
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,
THIRUVANATAHPURAM., PIN - 695014
4 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER
ERNAKULAM TOWN SOUTH POLICE STATION, THEVARA,
PERUMANOOR P.O, KOCHI., PIN - 682015
5 THE FEDERAL BANK LTD
REPRESENTED BY MANAGER, FEDERAL TOWERS, MARKET RD,
PERIYAR NAGAR, ALUVA, KERALA., PIN - 683101
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013
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6 THE BRANCH MANAGER
THE FEDERAL BANK LTD, PALARIVATTOM BRANCH, NO
35/37A, MAIN ROAD, NEAR METRO PILLAR 529,
ERNAKULAM., PIN - 682025
7 THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER
WADGAON POLICE STATION, YAVATMAL, MAHARASHTRA.,
PIN - 445001
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 24.03.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013
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JUDGMENT
Dated this the 24th 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. The learned Counsel for the Respondent/Bank, after getting instructions from the Bank, confirmed that the Bank has received two Requisitions from the Respondent No.7 for Rs.50,000/- each, totalling Rs.1,00,000/- for marking WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013 4 lien/freeze in the account of the Petitioner mentioned in the Writ Petition, and hence, the Bank has effected freezing of the account of the Petitioner.
3. 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 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.
4. Recently, the Indian Cyber Crime Co-Ordination Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013 5 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 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 WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013 6 restoration of the amount to the victim, and, in the process, help create a cybercrime-resilient financial ecosystem.
5. 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.
6. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is disposed of with the fol- lowing directions:
i) The Respondent/Bank is directed to permit the Petitioner to operate the account mentioned in this Writ Petition maintained by the Petitioner with it, limiting the freeze/lien/hold to the aforesaid amount.
ii) The disposal of the frozen/lien/hold amount shall be in ac-
cordance with the above SOP.
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013
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iii) Petitioner is free to redress his grievance through the Griev-
ance 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
ANB
WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026 2026:KER:26013
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APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 950 OF 2026
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE DETAILS OF THE
AFORESAID CYBERCRIME IN THE NATIONAL CYBER CRIME REGISTRATION PORTAL.