Many people discover that their bank account has been frozen only when a payment fails. Very often they are not accused of anything: money from a fraud elsewhere passed through their account, sometimes through an ordinary sale or a UPI payment from a stranger, and the police asked the bank to freeze it.
First, find out who froze it and why
Ask the bank in writing for the details of the freeze: which police station or authority asked for it, the date, the complaint or acknowledgement number (often from the national cyber crime reporting portal), and the amount marked. Banks usually share this with the account holder. Without it, nothing else can move.
The law behind a freeze
The police can seize property, including money in an account, under Section 106 of the BNSS (earlier Section 102 of the CrPC) when it is suspected to be connected with an offence. The seizure is to be reported to the magistrate. A freeze must be connected to the offence and proportionate to it; several High Courts have held that freezing a whole account, when only a small disputed amount is linked to a complaint, is not justified.
Routes to release
- Write to the investigating officer. With documents showing the source of the money and the legitimate nature of the transaction. Where only part of the balance is in question, ask that the freeze be limited to that amount.
- Apply to the magistrate. An application for release of the money or for lifting the freeze, under the BNSS provisions on custody and disposal of seized property (Sections 497 and 503, earlier Sections 451 and 457 of the CrPC), before the court concerned.
- Approach the High Court. Where the freeze is without any reported seizure, without notice, or plainly disproportionate, a writ petition may be the faster remedy.
If you are the victim of a fraud
Call 1930 or file on cybercrime.gov.in at once. Quick reporting is what allows the money to be frozen before it moves on. Our cyber crime practice acts both for victims and for account holders whose accounts have been frozen.
This article gives general information on the law as it stood when it was written. It is not legal advice; every matter turns on its own facts.