Kolkata, Nov. 4 -- The Calcutta High Court has held that a bank cannot freeze an entire bank account when only a portion of the money is allegedly linked to a cyber fraud investigation.
Directing the Central Bank of India to unfreeze a liquor shop's account, the court ordered it to retain Rs 89,415 pending the police enquiry.
A Division Bench of Justices Arindam Mukherjee and Arjun Ray Mukherjee passed the order on an appeal by Tejhati FL On Shop, whose account at the bank's Rahara branch had been frozen following a communication from Bengaluru Police.
The case originated from an FIR lodged at Electronic City police station, Bengaluru, on August 20, 2026, alleging cyber fraud involving Rs 1,75,799. According to the case recorded in the judgment, Rs 89,415 from the complainant's account had reached the shop's bank account. However, the latter was not among the four accounts identified as those of alleged fraudsters.
The shop submitted that it had received the money in the normal course of business as payment for goods and was unaware of the identity of the accounts from which the payments originated. The bench noted that the documents did not establish that the shop's account was involved in the alleged fraud.
Rejecting the bank's objection to its territorial jurisdiction, the court observed that the appellant and the bank branch were within its jurisdiction.
The bench directed the bank's Rahara branch and regional head office to unfreeze the account while retaining Rs 89,415. If the existing balance was lower, the shop must deposit the deficit within five working days. If higher, it must be allowed to operate the account within three working days. The retained amount will be dealt with depending on the outcome of the police enquiry.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.