Karnataka High Court.
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court on Thursday disposed of a PIL seeking directions to the authorities not to freeze bank accounts without prior verification that the account holder is involved in a cyber crime. A division comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha noted the submission by the union government that a draft of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) pertaining to cybercrime is already being circulated to all stakeholders.
The PIL, filed by Pavan Vijay Sharma, a resident of Bengaluru city, also sought directions to the authorities to formulate uniform guidelines/SOP for issuance of bank account freeze orders, debit restrictions and lien markings in cyber crime cases across the state. The advocate for the petitioner argued that a show cause notice is required to be issued before an action of freezing accounts takes place.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice said that the issue needs to be looked at from the perspective of ensuring recovery instantaneously. “The first hour is called the golden hour. The authorities cannot be expected to issue show cause notices. If a credit card is misused and money is transferred, you have to freeze the money/account. Look at the funds that have gone out from the accounts of the hapless persons, especially senior citizens. Just see the plight of people who have lost their life savings,” the Chief Justice orally said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General Shanthi Bhushan H, appearing for the union government, placed a draft copy of the SOP for National Cybercrime Reporting Portal [NCRP] - Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System [CFCFRMS], Custody, Restoration of money and Grievance Redressal, indicating that the SOP would be finalised after receipt inputs. It was also submitted that if the state authorities spend time in issuing show cause notice, then it may not be possible to recover the proceeds of crime.
Considering this submission, the bench disposed of the petition. The bench clarified that the order would not impede any individual woes or any individual entity whose account may be frozen or who may be aggrieved from availing remedies available, in accordance with law.