{"id":16145,"date":"2026-02-24T05:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T05:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=16145"},"modified":"2026-03-08T12:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:37:37","slug":"section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 106 BNSS: Safeguarding Against Arbitrary Freezing of Bank Accounts !"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rise-of-cybercrime-and-bank-account-freezing\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rise_Of_Cybercrime_And_Indiscriminate_Bank_Account_Freezing\"><\/span>Rise Of Cybercrime And Indiscriminate Bank Account Freezing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The surge in cybercrime has led to a parallel rise in a troubling trend: the indiscriminate freezing of bank accounts. Often, innocent individuals find their funds locked simply because a &#8220;tainted&#8221; amount\u2014sometimes negligible\u2014has entered their account through a complex fraud trail. While the police aim to track illicit gains, the lack of precision often leaves citizens remediless, especially when investigations span different states, creating a &#8220;jurisdictional impasse&#8221; where local courts feel unauthorized to intervene.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0c0c0c;color:#0c0c0c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/#Rise_Of_Cybercrime_And_Indiscriminate_Bank_Account_Freezing\" >Rise Of Cybercrime And Indiscriminate Bank Account Freezing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/#The_Legal_Framework_From_CrPC_To_BNSS\" >The Legal Framework: From CrPC To BNSS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/#Key_Safeguards_And_Judicial_Mandates\" >Key Safeguards And Judicial Mandates<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/#Preserving_The_Rule_Of_Law\" >Preserving The Rule Of Law<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/section-106-bnss-safeguarding-against-arbitrary-freezing-of-bank-accounts\/#Summary_Application_Of_Section_106_BNSS\" >Summary: Application Of Section 106 BNSS<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"legal-framework-from-crpc-to-bnss\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Legal_Framework_From_CrPC_To_BNSS\"><\/span>The Legal Framework: From CrPC To BNSS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The power to freeze accounts, once governed by Section 102 of the CrPC, now resides in Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v. Tapas D. Neogy (1999) affirmed that bank accounts are &#8220;property&#8221; liable for seizure, it also established that this power is not absolute. It must be balanced against constitutional rights and strict procedural adherence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Earlier Provision<\/th><th>Current Provision<\/th><th>Key Principle<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Section 102, CrPC<\/td><td>Section 106, BNSS, 2023<\/td><td>Bank accounts are &#8220;property&#8221; liable for seizure, but power is not absolute<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-safeguards-and-judicial-mandates\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Safeguards_And_Judicial_Mandates\"><\/span>Key Safeguards And Judicial Mandates<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To prevent the misuse of Section 106, constitutional courts have emphasized several critical checks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mandatory Reporting:<\/strong> As established in T. Subbulakshmi v. Commissioner of Police (2013), freezing an account without informing the jurisdictional Magistrate is illegal. This reporting is a mandatory safeguard, not a discretionary choice for the police.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Property Nexus:<\/strong> There must be a direct link between the account and the alleged offense. Freezing an entire account for a small suspicious transaction is often viewed as disproportionate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Judicial Supervision:<\/strong> The Magistrate is not a silent spectator. They possess the inherent authority to scrutinize the legality of a freeze and, where procedural flaws exist, order defreezing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"preserving-the-rule-of-law\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Preserving_The_Rule_Of_Law\"><\/span>Preserving The Rule Of Law<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, Section 106 BNSS must be interpreted as a shield against arbitrary state action rather than a sword for procedural harassment. Recognizing the Magistrate&#8217;s jurisdiction to intervene is not an expansion of judicial power, but a faithful application of statutory safeguards. Fairness dictates that an innocent person&#8217;s right to their property should not be a casualty of investigative complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary-application-of-section-106-bnss\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_Application_Of_Section_106_BNSS\"><\/span>Summary: Application Of Section 106 BNSS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The shift to BNSS does not grant police a blank check. Section 106 must be applied with surgical precision and prompt judicial accountability to ensure the hunt for cybercriminals does not result in the financial paralysis of innocent citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Award-Winning Article Written By: Adv.Hinesh Rathod<br><\/strong>Advocate | Active in Politics |Human Rights Activist | Social Worker |<br>Ph no: 8652544618, Email id hineshrathod96@gmail.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/images\/ae-1.png\" alt=\"Certificate of Excellence awarded by Legal Service India\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Authentication No: MAR606666061299-08-0326<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rise Of Cybercrime And Indiscriminate Bank Account Freezing The surge in cybercrime has led to a parallel rise in a troubling trend: the indiscriminate freezing of bank accounts. Often, innocent individuals find their funds locked simply because a &#8220;tainted&#8221; amount\u2014sometimes negligible\u2014has entered their account through a complex fraud trail. While the police aim to track<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[5277,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-16145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cyber-law","7":"tag-cyber-law","8":"tag-top-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}