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Blanket Freezing Of Bank Accounts Arbitrary, Violates Rights: Delhi Hc

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Blanket or disproportionate freezing of bank accounts, when the account holder is neither an accused nor a suspect in an investigation, is manifestly arbitrary and against one's fundamental right to livelihood and freedom to carry on trade and business, the Delhi High Court has said. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said that indiscriminate freezing of accounts paralyses the day-to-day business operations of an otherwise innocent entity, resulting in loss of commercial goodwill and financial consequences. The observations came on a petition filed by Malabar Gold and Diamonds, seeking to direct the Centre and I4C to withdraw any communication or direction given to the State Bank of India and HDFC Bank to "put on hold" its bank accounts. Established under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), I4C acts as a nodal point at the national level in the fight against cybercrime. The petitioner's bank accounts were frozen after a cyber complaint was registered against one of its customers for