Karnataka HC: Police can freeze bank accounts without court nod

The Story in Brief

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that police do not need a magistrate's prior approval to freeze a bank account during investigation, rejecting claims that such a freeze amounts to property attachment requiring judicial order. Justice M Nagaprasanna held that Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) gives investigating officers seizure powers including debit freezes, and these operate separately from Section 107's attachment provisions. The court warned that requiring prior approval for every freeze would be "catastrophic" to cybercrime probes, where stolen money moves between accounts in seconds.

Separately, the Allahabad High Court ruled that investigating agencies cannot impose a blanket freeze on accounts when the suspected cybercrime transaction involves a specific amount. It directed that restraint must be proportionate to the suspected proceeds of crime, and ordered banks to de-freeze a Lucknow businessman's accounts beyond the disputed Rs 36,000 while retaining a lien on that amount.