The Madras High Court in India has ruled that police cannot freeze entire bank accounts during fraud investigations, and must only freeze the amount related to the alleged fraud. This ruling comes after a case involving the freezing of accounts related to a cryptocurrency investigation.

Judge G. Jayachandran emphasized that freezing entire accounts deprives individuals of their livelihood and financial stability. He pointed out that account holders are often unaware of why their accounts have been frozen, resulting in significant losses to their daily financial and business transactions by the time they discover it.

Judge Jayachandran further emphasized that while the law requires investigating agencies to notify the account holder and the court when freezing accounts, this requirement is often ignored. He cited Section 102 of the Criminal Procedure Code (now replaced by Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sahita Act) which mandates timely reporting of such actions. (Bitcoin.com)