Kerala High Court Addresses Growing P2P Challenges in India With Positive Ruling

• Kerala High Court safeguards crypto users from arbitrary bank account freeze.
• Justice Devan Ramachandran’s ruling emphasises public trust in the UPI system.

In a significant development for the Indian crypto community, the Kerala High Court has issued a groundbreaking directive, safeguarding the rights of bank account holders who have fallen victim to indiscriminate freezes on their accounts in cases related to cybercrimes. 

The court, in its ruling, called upon banks not to freeze customer accounts based on requests from the police investigating cyber crimes but instead to withhold only the disputed amounts received through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.

The ruling, delivered by a single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran, is poised to provide immense relief to those who have been grappling with arbitrary. And indefinite account freezes requested by law enforcement agencies across the country. The directive also commands the police to inform banks, within eight weeks, about the necessity and duration of the freeze on the petitioners’ accounts.

A Better Step For Crypto Crimes?

Justice Ramachandran emphasized that these measures are vital to maintain public trust in the UPI system, lauded internationally as a pioneering initiative of India. However, it’s essential to note that this order applies specifically to the petitioners and transactions made via UPI. For future cases, the affected individuals may need to approach the court again, though the judge encouraged banks to refrain from freezing their customers’ accounts.

The petitioners, who are predominantly retailers and restaurants, argued that they received disputed funds through mobile payment apps using the UPI for legitimate trade and services. These actions by both the police and banks have severely impacted their businesses and daily lives. Justice Ramachandran acknowledged that these law-abiding citizens had limited capacity to navigate the legal intricacies that had led to their current predicament.

Also this case highlights the broader issue of cryptocurrencies and the challenges they pose for law enforcement. While crypto trading platforms have stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) norms that can aid in tracking cybercriminals, the police have often targeted crypto traders who inadvertently received funds in their accounts and demanded bribes to release the freezes.

Crypto netizens think that his ruling marks a crucial step in ensuring the accountability and fairness of the Indian banking system, especially in the context of the burgeoning crypto landscape.