Rajasthan High Court tells SBI to freeze only disputed amount, release rest of account
The Rajasthan High Court directed SBI to keep only the disputed amount frozen in an account holder's account and allow transactions from the remaining balance.
Key points
- The Rajasthan High Court directed SBI to keep only the disputed amount frozen and let the account holder use the rest of the balance.
- Police must tell the bank the amount to hold within seven days of the bank's letter, under the 26 October 2026 order.
- If the police do not reply, the court said the bank must still act on its order and release the remaining balance.
The Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur on 26 October 2026 directed State Bank of India to keep only the disputed amount frozen in an account holder's account and let them use the rest of the balance. The account holder had asked the court to lift a freeze on the whole account. The order sets a seven-day window for the police to tell the bank how much to hold.
What Happened
An account holder with SBI's Bilara branch in Jodhpur district filed a writ petition asking the court to direct that their account be de-frozen, and that it not be frozen in future without a hearing. The cyber crime wing of Rajasthan Police, through its Deputy Inspector General, and the State of Rajasthan were also parties.
The court disposed of the petition with a direction to SBI to keep frozen only the disputed amount, which the investigating officer or police allege is the source of the offence, and to allow transactions from the remaining balance.
If the bank does not know the exact disputed amount, the court said it must write to the investigating officer or police, with a copy of the order, asking how much should be marked for lien, meaning held back and not available to withdraw. The police are then obliged to tell the bank the amount within seven days of receiving the letter. If the bank gets no reply, the court said it is still duty bound to act according to the order.
What It Means
The order shows the approach the High Court took where a whole account is frozen in a police matter: hold back only the amount under dispute and let the account holder use the rest. It also puts a time limit on the police to tell the bank what that amount is, so a missing reply does not keep the full balance locked.
Account holders whose accounts are frozen can ask their bank which amount is under lien and which authority asked for it. A complaint about a bank's handling of an account can be taken to the RBI at https://cms.rbi.org.in. Anyone who has lost money to online fraud can report it at https://cybercrime.gov.in or on helpline 1930.
Source: High Court judgment
Sources & Citations
- High Court judgment — Rajasthan High Court