1 2026:CGHC:20864 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 2202 of 2026 1 - Santram Kaiwart S/o Munna Kaiwart Aged About 35 Years R/o Lawar, Koni, District- Bilaspur (C.G.) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Reserve Bank Of India Through Its Governor, Having Its Head Office At New Central Office Building, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai (Maharashtra) 2 - Axis Bank Through The Branch Manager, Branch- Jairam Nagar, Branch, Deep Parisar, Near Market Main Road, Jairamnagar, O.O Masturi District- Bilaspur (C.G.) ... Respondent(s) (Cause Title is taken from CIS System) For Petitioner : Ms. Khushboo Naresh Dua, Advocate Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 05/05/2026 1. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking following reliefs : Digitally signed by SHAYNA KADRI 2 “10.1. That this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to call the entire records pertaining to the case of the petitioner regarding freezing of debit operations of his bank account. 10.2. That this Hon'ble Court may further kindly be pleased to issue appropriate writ to the respondent authorities to de-freeze the debit operations of the bank account of the petitioner bearing account no. 922010024280831 of the Axis Bank, Jairam Nagar Branch. 10.3. That the Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to allow the petitioner to operate his account without any hindrance or objections. 10.4. The Hon'ble Court may further kindly be pleased to issue writ/order/direction to respondent No.2 to withdraw the communication made to their team or issue fresh communication directing to hold only the disputed amount of Rs. 10800 credited by the unknown person and to de-freez the debit operations of the petitioner's account with the respondent No.2. 3 10.5. That any other relief/order which may deem fit and just in the facts and circumstances of the case..” 2. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that the petitioner is an agriculturist by occupation and a resident of Koni, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). For the purpose of carrying out his day- to-day financial and business transactions, the petitioner maintains a savings bank account bearing No. 922010024280831 with respondent No. 2/Axis Bank at its Jairam Nagar Branch, Bilaspur. The said account has been in regular and continuous operation since the year 2022. On 06.08.2025, the petitioner received a sum of Rs. 10,800/- in his bank account through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from his brother-in-law as financial assistance for personal needs. The said transaction, according to the petitioner, was bona fide in nature. It is not disputed that the petitioner continued to operate his account normally even after the said transaction till 12.03.2026. However, on 13.03.2026, when the petitioner attempted to carry out an online transaction, he found that the debit operations of his account had been disabled. Upon visiting the respondent Bank, he was informed that the account had been frozen. It is the case of the petitioner that such freezing was done abruptly, without any prior notice, intimation or communication. Upon further inquiry, the 4 petitioner was informed that the freezing of the account was on account of a complaint received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, followed by an email communication from the office of Superintendent of Police, CCD-I, indicating that a disputed amount of Rs. 10,800/- had been credited to the petitioner’s account. Immediately thereafter, the petitioner submitted a representation dated 19.03.2026 to the Branch Manager of respondent No. 2/Bank requesting de-freezing of his account and expressing his willingness to cooperate in any inquiry. The petitioner also conveyed that the disputed amount may be withheld by the Bank, if required. Despite such request and repeated follow-ups, no action has been taken by the Bank, resulting in continued freezing of the account. Aggrieved by the inaction of the respondent authorities and the hardship caused due to freezing of his bank account, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of the present writ petition. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is an agriculturist and is entirely dependent on the said bank account for carrying out his daily financial transactions and sustaining his livelihood. It is submitted that the amount of Rs. 10,800/- credited in the petitioner’s account was a genuine transfer made by his relative and does not involve any fraudulent activity on the part of the petitioner. Despite this, the respondent Bank has frozen the entire account without issuing any notice or passing any formal 5 order. Learned counsel further submits that the action of the respondent Bank is arbitrary, illegal and violative of the principles of natural justice, as the petitioner was neither informed nor given any opportunity of hearing prior to freezing of the account. It is argued that even assuming the said transaction to be suspicious, the Bank could have at best withheld the disputed amount, instead of freezing the entire account and preventing the petitioner from operating the same. It is further submitted that such action has caused grave financial hardship to the petitioner, affecting his day-to-day business and personal transactions, and thereby infringing his fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, it is prayed that appropriate directions be issued to respondent No. 2/Bank to permit the petitioner to operate his account forthwith. 4. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the material available on record. 5. The undisputed facts reveal that the petitioner’s bank account has been frozen on account of a suspected transaction of Rs. 10,800/-. It is also not in dispute that such freezing has been done without issuing any prior notice or without passing any formal order. In the present era, instances of suspicious or unauthorized transactions in bank accounts have become increasingly common. However, in such cases, unless there is prima facie material indicating involvement of the account holder in any 6 fraudulent activity, the account holder cannot be deprived of his right to operate the bank account. Freezing of a bank account entails serious civil consequences and directly affects the financial autonomy and livelihood of an individual. Therefore, such action must be taken strictly in accordance with law and only after following due process, including issuance of a formal order. In the present case, there is no material on record to indicate that any formal order has been passed by the respondent Bank prior to freezing the account. Moreover, the petitioner has acted bona fide by approaching the Bank and offering full cooperation, including consent to withhold the disputed amount. 6. Considering the small quantum of the alleged suspicious amount and the absence of any material suggesting complicity of the petitioner, the action of freezing the entire account appears to be disproportionate and unjustified. 7. Accordingly, the present writ petition is disposed of with the directions to respondent No. 2/Axis Bank to take necessary steps forthwith to permit the petitioner to operate his savings bank account bearing No. 922010024280831. It shall, however, be open to the respondent Bank to withhold or place lien upon the disputed amount of Rs. 10,800/- strictly in accordance with applicable law, rules, regulations and guidelines. 8. Further, in view of the increasing number of such cases, it is expected that respondent No. 1/Reserve Bank of India shall take 7 appropriate measures and issue necessary guidelines so that innocent bank customers are not unnecessarily deprived of operating their accounts without due process. 9. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. No order as to costs. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Shayna Judge