Amaze INDIA vs. State Of Kerala
Held
The Court directed the bank to confine the freeze order only to the specific amount mentioned in the police requisition, allowing the petitioner to operate the account for amounts exceeding this limit. Police authorities were directed to inform the bank within eight months if the freeze needs to continue and for what duration, failing which the petitioner could approach the Court again.
Facts
A GST-registered firm, Amaze India, had its bank account frozen by police authorities based on a requisition to the bank, impacting its ability to transact. The facts of the case were noted to be covered by a previous High Court judgment.
Key Issues
The key legal issue was the extent and duration of a police-ordered bank account freeze on a business entity's operational funds, and balancing the requirements of investigation with the business's right to operate its accounts.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN WEDNESDAY, THE 6TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2023 / 15TH AGRAHAYANA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 35425 OF 2023 PETITIONER: AMAZE INDIA REPRESENTED BY ITS PARTNERS SAMSHER MOHAMMED HUSSAIN HASHMI AGED 40 YEARS, FLAT NO 2104 SHRI BALAJI, ENCLAVE, OFF CHINCHOLI BUNDER ROAD, MALAD WEST, BEHIND EVERSHINE MALL, MUMBAI, MUMBAI SUBURBAN, MAHARASHTRA, PIN - 400064 BY ADVS. V.JOHN MANI SETHULAKSHMI K.K. ABHIRAMI C. UNNI VARGHESE SABU MEERA RAJAN RESPONDENTS: 1 STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY HOME SECRETARY GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695001 2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER CYBER CRIME POLICE STATION, ERNAKULAM RURAL, ALUVA, KERALA, PIN - 683101 3 STATE BANK OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY ITS BRANCH MANAGER GEREGAON MULUND LINK ROAD BRANCH, SHOWROOM NO 11, RUSTOMJEE OZONE GOREGAON WEST, MUMBAI, PIN - 400104 4 VISHNU SOMAN MUNDAPLACKAL HOUSE MANJALLOOR, NEERAMPUZHA, VAZHAKKULAM, ERNAKULAM RURAL, KERALA, PIN - 686670 BY ADVS.
Nandagopal Nambiar V.V PREEJA. P.VIJAYAN(K/104/2006) SMITHA (EZHUPUNNA)(K/223/2015) CHITRA JOHNSON(K/000924/2018) THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 06.12.2023, TH
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