Bhubaneswar, March 12 -- The Orissa High Court on Wednesday ruled that while police authorities have the power to freeze bank accounts during the course of criminal investigations, blocking the entire account of a functioning business without specifying the allegedly illegal amount is unjustified and disproportionate.

The observation was made by a single-judge bench of Justice S.K. Panigrahi while hearing a petition filed by an authorised LPG distributor affiliated with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Gajapati district.

"The objective should be to strike a balance between the rights of a complainant and those of an innocent account holder who may otherwise suffer undue hardship due to a blanket freezing of the account," the cour...