The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the unfreezing of a company's bank account that had been put on hold following communications from investigating agencies. The Court ruled that while the disputed amount may remain protected, the company's banking operations should not remain indefinitely restricted without proper legal proceedings.
Background of the Case
The petition was filed by Dekain Perfect Tech Solution Private Limited through its director, Sanjay Sharma. The company approached the High Court seeking removal of a lien marked on its account maintained with IDFC First Bank and requested permission to operate the account without restrictions.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the matter was covered by an earlier judgment of the High Court in Malcolm Murayis & Others v. State Bank of India & Others, where similar issues relating to frozen bank accounts and cyber fraud investigations had been considered.
In that earlier case, account holders had complained that their bank accounts were frozen based on emails sent by cyber crime units, despite no formal notice being served on them.
Court's Observation
Justice Subodh Abhyankar noted that the principles laid down in the Malcolm Murayis decision were applicable to the present dispute as well.
Referring to the earlier ruling, the Court observed that investigating agencies are expected to proceed in accordance with the law and obtain necessary orders from the competent judicial authority if they seek to continue restrictions on bank accounts.
The bench reiterated that merely informing banks about suspected transactions cannot justify an indefinite freeze on an account without following due legal procedure.
“The decision rendered by this Court in the case of Malcolm Murayis shall be applicable mutatis mutandis in the present case also,”
the Court observed.
Decision
Disposing of the petition, the High Court directed the bank to keep the disputed amount, as identified by the investigating agencies, in fixed deposits.
The Court further ordered that those deposits may be liquidated only after appropriate orders are passed by the competent Judicial Magistrate within three months. If no such orders are obtained within that period, the petitioner would be entitled to withdraw the amount after informing the concerned police agency.
Importantly, the Court directed that the petitioner company's bank account be unfrozen and restored for normal operations.
Case details:
Case Title: Dekain Perfect Tech Solution Private Limited v. IDFC First Bank & Others
Case Number: Writ Petition No. 18579 of 2026
Judge: Justice Subodh Abhyankar
Decision Date: 22 June 2026
