- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 5TH DAY OF MARCH, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM WRIT PETITION NO. 2411 OF 2026 (GM-RES) BETWEEN: SRI HARISH V S/O VIJAY KUMARP.N AGED ABOUT 33 YEARS R/A, NO.47, 1ST MAIN 3RD CROSS, ANNAPPA REDDY COMPLEX, PADMANABHANAGAR CHIKKALASANDRA BANGALORE SOUTH, BENGALURU KARNATAKA - 560 061. …PETITIONER (BY SRI SADANAND G SHASTRI, ADV.) AND: 1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA BY DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS REPRESENTED BY ITS ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY, AT NO.222, 2ND FLOOR VIDHANA SOUDHA, DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR VEEDHI, BENGALURU - 560 001. 2. DIRECTOR GENERAL AND INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE KARNATAKA STATE NRUPATHUNGA ROAD BENGALURU - 560 001. 3. THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER CYBER CRIME POLICE STATION WAYANAD, KERALA, KALPETTA - 673 121. Digitally signed by NAGARAJA B M Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 4. THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER KUAKHIA POLICE STATION JAJPUR, ODISHA - 755 051. 5. THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER MAHESH NAGAR POLICE STATION NEAR RIDHI SIDHI CHAURAHA RAJASTHAN, JAIPUR - 302 015. 6. SOUTH INDIAN BANK BANASHANKARI BRANCH REPRESENT BY ITS BRANCH MANAGER AT 569, C.R COMPLEX, 80 FEET ROAD 30TH MAIN, BANASHANKARI 3RD STAGE BENGALURU - 560 050. …RESPONDENTS (BY SMT. NAVYA SHEKHAR, AGA FOR R-1 TO R-5; SRI FRANCIS XAVIER, ADV., FOR R-6) THIS W P IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TOI. TO ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS OR ANY OTHER ORDER WRIT, APPROPRIATE THE RESPONDENT OR DIRECTION NO. 6 TO DEFREEZE/ UNFREEZE BANK THE ACCOUNT BEARING NO.0517053000002556 WITH SOUTH INDIAN BANK, BANASHANKARI BRANCH, BENGALURU (IFSC CODE.SIBL0000517) AT ANNEXURE A DT.01/12/2025 NO.BR/GEN/52/25-26. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM ORAL ORDER In the captioned petition, petitioner is aggrieved by the action of respondent No.6/Bank in freezing the - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 petitioner's account No.0517053000002556 on the instructions of Respondents 3 to 5. 2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel appearing for respondent No.6/Bank and the learned AGA. 3. Facts leading to the case are as follows: The petitioner maintains a savings/current bank account bearing Account No. 0517053000002556 with respondent No.6/Bank. The petitioner is a businessman and operates his business transactions through the said account. According to the petitioner, the account is used for receipt of business income from clients, professional service income and for meeting various operational requirements of his business. The petitioner asserts that he has maintained the said account for more than a decade in a regular, disciplined and transparent manner. It is his specific case that he is not involved in any unlawful activities, online gaming transactions or any form of - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 fraudulent or cheating activities. The grievance of the petitioner arises from a complaint lodged on the cyber portal, pursuant to which the petitioner’s bank account came to be frozen and a lien was marked to the extent of Rs.2,95,230/-. The petitioner contends that the respondent-bank, without independently verifying the necessity of freezing the account, has mechanically acted upon the instructions issued by the police authorities. As a consequence, the petitioner’s entire account has been frozen, causing serious inconvenience and hardship in carrying on his business activities. The marking of lien over the said amount has also resulted in the petitioner being unable to operate the account, thereby constraining his financial transactions. It is in this background that the present writ petition is filed. 4. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned counsel appearing for the respondents. This Court has also carefully perused the material placed on record. - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 5. As borne out from the complaint reported on the cyber portal, the alleged disputed transaction is to the extent of Rs.2,95,230/-. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations or the legality of the lien marked to the petitioner’s account, this Court is of the view that the petitioner claims to be carrying on business activities and therefore freezing of the entire bank account, when the alleged disputed amount is limited to Rs.2,95,230/-, would cause undue hardship. Though the petitioner has sought a direction in the nature of mandamus to defreeze the entire account, this Court is of the view that the equities between the parties can be balanced. At this stage, while safeguarding the interest of the State in securing the disputed amount, it would also be appropriate to ensure that the petitioner’s business activities are not adversely affected on account of the freezing of the entire account. Hence, this Court deems it appropriate to grant limited protection to the petitioner - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:13641 WP No. 2411 of 2026 while permitting the respondents to retain a lien over the disputed amount. 6. For the foregoing reasons, this Court proceeds to pass the following: ORDER (i) Writ petition is allowed in part. (ii) Respondent No. 6 is hereby directed to mark lien over the disputed amount of Rs.2,95,230/-. (iii) It is made clear that petitioner shall maintain balance to an extent of Rs.2,95,230/- and at the same time, petitioner is entitled to operate his account in excess of Rs.2,95,230/-. (iv) Petitioner can seek revival of the lien if no action is contemplated. SD/- (SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM) JUDGE ALB, List No.: 2 Sl No.: 8