Sanjoy Singh vs. Manager Indian Bank, Maniktala Branch And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioner, Sanjoy Singh, sought a writ of mandamus to direct the Manager of Indian Bank, Maniktala Branch, to release a loan amount of twenty lakh rupees. The bank had placed a hold on the loan, citing fraudulent transactions in the petitioner's wife's bank account, which was under investigation by the CGST department. The petitioner contended that he was not accused of any wrongdoing and that his loan account had no adverse remarks or restraint orders from any authority. The bank's affidavit indicated a willingness to release the hold upon the petitioner providing a no-objection certificate from the concerned department regarding the provisional attachment of his wife's account.
Held
The Court held that the bank's action of placing a hold on the petitioner's loan account was improper and arbitrary. It was noted that the petitioner's loan account itself was not involved in any fraudulent transactions, and there was no restraint order from any authority concerning his account. The Court found it unacceptable for the bank to restrain the petitioner from utilizing his loan amount merely because his wife's account was under investigation. The principle established is that an individual's financial facility should not be arbitrarily withheld based on the alleged misconduct of a close relation without any direct evidence or legal restraint against the individual's account. The Court directed the Manager, Indian Bank, Maniktala Branch, Kolkata, to immediately remove the hold on the petitioner's loan account and permit him to operate it as per law.
Key Issues
1. Whether the bank's action of placing a hold on the petitioner's loan account, solely due to alleged fraudulent transactions in his wife's account, is arbitrary and illegal, violating the petitioner's right to operate his loan facility? (Question of law) Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that there were no allegations of fraudulent transactions against him, nor any restraint order on his loan account. He asserted that his wife's account being under investigation by the CGST department should not be a ground to restrain him from accessing his loan, which was independent. He relied on the principle that an individual should not be penalized for the alleged actions of another without any direct involvement. Revenue/State's contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Union of India (representing the revenue) or any other state authority regarding the bank's action or the petitioner's claim. The bank's submission was primarily based on the need for a no-objection certificate concerning the wife's account.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
19-05-2025 Item No.29 Subrata Bhattacharyya AR(C) IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Juri iction Appellate Side WPA No.852 of 2025 Sanjoy Singh -vs- Manager Indian Bank, Maniktala Branch & Ors. Ms. Rita Mukherjee Mr. Rowsan Kumar Jha Mr. Anousko Das …for the petitioner Mr. Shashwat Nayak Mr. Debasish Chakraborty Mr. Snehasish Chakraborty …for the bank Mr. Aniruddha Bagchi Mr. Amal Kumar Datta …for the Union of India
The petitioner is aggrieved as the bank has kept on hold the loan amount of rupees twenty lakh on the grounds that the bank account of the petitioner’s wife had some fraudulent transaction. According to the petitioner, there is no allegation against him about any illegal or fraudulent transaction. Only because the bank account of the petitioner’s wife was found to be involved in certain
transactions
which are under investigation by the CGST department, the bank has put on hold the loan amount of the petitioner.
Affidavit filed by the bank discloses that the bank is willing to remove the hold, if the petitioner submits no-objection certificate of the provisional attachment of the petitioner’s wife’s account from the concerned department.
I have heard the respective submissions advanced on behalf of the parties and have perused the materials on record.
Admittedly, it appears that the loan account of the petitioner has not been found to be involved in any type of fraudulent transaction, and that there is no restraint order in respect of the loan account of the petitioner from any authority whatsoever.
The petitioner’s wife has an independent loan account and a bank account. The same may have been under investigation but it cannot be a reason for put on hold the loan account of the petitioner in respect of which there is no adverse remark from any quarter. It was absolutely improper for the bank to restrain the petitioner from utilizing the loan amount.
In view thereof, the instant writ petition is allowed by directing the Manager, Indian Bank, Maniktala Branch, Kolkata to immediately remove the hold put on the loan account of the petitioner and permit him to operate the loan account in accordance with law.
All parties are to act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this court.
Certified copy of this order, if applied for, shall be made available to the parties. [Amrita Sinha, J]
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Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.