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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Freeze only disputed amount in cyber fraud cases: New guidelines
Jaipur: Rajasthan police headquarters has directed that bank accounts should not be entirely frozen during investigations into financial disputes and cyber crime frauds. The new guidelines instruct that only the specific amount under dispute may be held, and even that requires written approval from the district SP. Account holders must be allowed to continue using the rest of their funds freely. The instructions were sent to all police commissioners, range IGs, DIGs, and district SPs following directions from Rajasthan High Court's Jaipur bench. The move aims to prevent hardship caused by freezing entire accounts, particularly in civil disputes with financial elements. The circular also highlights that if a case involves cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more—especially in property deals or contracts—police must report the details to the Income Tax Dept. These must be submitted in the prescribed format to Kunal Haver, joint director of Income Tax and the designated nodal officer in Jaipur. Police have been clearly told not to register FIRs in purely civil disputes where there is no evident criminal liability. If both civil and criminal aspects are present and an FIR was already registered, no arrest or document seizure can be carried out without prior written approval from the District SP. Where the alleged offence carries a sentence of at least 3 years and up to 7 years, and no clear cognisable offence is immediately visible, a preliminary inquiry must be completed within 14 days under Section 173(3)(i) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The decision to file an FIR will depend on the findings of this inquiry. The DGP's office has also reminded all officers to strictly follow the Supreme Court's guidelines in the Lalita Kumari vs State of Uttar Pradesh case before registering FIRs in ambiguous matters. These new directions are intended to curb the misuse of criminal law in civil matters and to safeguard individuals' financial and legal rights from arbitrary police actions. In yet another directive, the PHQ has also forwarded details of suspicious bank accounts to the superintendent of police concerned for a detailed probe into the transactions being conducted through these accounts. Sources said that many of these accounts are under the radar for their use as mule accounts in cyber fraud cases. A cyber security campaign is being run until June 25. "Under the campaign, one of the focus areas is to identify suspicious transactions in bank accounts which are flagged through Samanvaya portal - a ministry of home affairs initiative. These accounts are suspected to have been used for laundering money stolen in cyber frauds," said a senior police officer. He added that the district SPs have been asked to probe these bank accounts. Hundreds of such accounts are being monitored in each district. For example, in Bikaner, over 550 bank accounts are currently under radar. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- The Hindu
Madras High Court lays down guidelines to prevent harassment complaints against T.N. police personnel
The Madras High Court has issued guidelines for Tamil Nadu police personnel to prevent complaints of harassment during the investigation of criminal cases. Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan has ordered that henceforth, the police must summon any individual for inquiry only by issuing a written notice under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The judge ordered that the written summons/notice must specify the date and time when the individual concerned — be it a suspect or witness — must appear before the police officer concerned for inquiry. Further, the minutes of the inquiry should be recorded in the general diary/station diary/daily diary of the police station concerned and personnel must refrain from meting out any kind of ill-treatment to the suspect/witness, he ordered. The judge also ordered that the police must scrupulously follow the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in 2014, in the famous Lalita Kumari's case, with respect to procedures to be followed during preliminary inquiry and registration of First Information Report (FIR). The orders were passed while disposing of a petition filed by M. Raji to restrain an Inspector of Police attached to the Avadi Central Crime Branch from harassing the petitioner and his family members in connection with an immovable property dispute. The petitioner's counsel M.T. Arunan told the court that the police have no authority to interfere with a civil dispute and hence, they must be restrained from harassing individuals in connection with such disputes. Observing that numerous petitions were being filed in the High Court to restrain police personnel from harassing litigants, the judge said, courts would generally not interfere with investigations conducted by the police but it could also not turn a blind eye to complaints of harassment. An enquiry into a non-cognisable offence or a cognisable offence falls within the unfettered powers conferred on the investigating officers, as long as the power to investigate/conduct inquiry into these offences were legitimately exercised within the framework of Chapter XIII of the BNSS, 2023. 'Though the Sanhita empowers the Judicial Magistrates to be a guardian in all the stages of the police investigation, there is no power envisaging the Magistrates to interfere with the actual investigation or the mode of investigation. It is in this background that numerous petitions complaining of harassment are being filed before this court,' the judge wrote. He went to state that the term 'harassment' by itself had a very broad meaning and hence, what could be harassment to the petitioner may not be so for the police officer. Therefore, it was necessary to frame certain guidelines for the police personnel on this issue, the judge added.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Indian Express
Badlapur custodial death: After HC rap, state police say will register FIR by May 3
After the Bombay High Court slammed it for delay in registeration of FIR over the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault case accused, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday said that it will register an FIR by May 3. This came after the HC said delay in registering FIR despite its April 7 verdict and April 25 order was 'scuttling of the directives' and there was a responsibility cast on the police to ensure that the 'public faith in the system is not eroded'. The state government's lawyer assured the court that FIR will be registered at the instance of Police Inspector Mangesh Desai from the Crime Branch, who will act as a complainant. The bench said that once FIR is registered, it was open for the designated officer from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to collect from HC registry the documents, electronic records from sealed envelope including magisterial enquiry report and copies of the same shall be forwarded to the state-appointed judicial commission. A 23-year-old janitor, arrested in August 2024 for the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district, was shot dead while he was being transported in a police vehicle on September 23 last year. The magistrate's Accidental Death Report (ADR) submitted to the high court in January found that five police officers, including a police driver, were responsible for the death of the accused and 'found substance' in 'false encounter' allegations. On April 7, the HC ordered formation of SIT and directed police to conduct a probe by following principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari case, which includes mandatory registration of an FIR. On Wednesday, the HC expressed displeasure over the delay in registration of FIR and state's claim that it cannot do so without examining magistrate's findings. Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar for the state government submitted that so as to enforce court's order in 'letter and spirit', FIR can be registered after going through the magistrate enquiry documents or if aggrieved parents of the deceased had come forward to file a complaint. He informed that as per HC's April 25 order, the CID had transferred probe papers containing 70 files and the SIT will go through the same. 'There has to be faith in the rule of law. It is not just about the merits of the matter. Police are there to unearth the truth. There is a responsibility cast on you (Police) and us. Do not let the public faith in the system not be eroded,' the bench responded. The judges went to remark orally, 'By now FIR ought to have been registered. We kept the matter today (April 30) to enable you to take steps in accordance with law. Idea was to set law in motion. Admittedly there is a cognisable offence, you have not registered FIR, only option is to issue contempt of court. We are not satisfied.' 'The cognisable offence was not revealed? There was a dead body and an unnatural death. What other revelations do you want? Can you not register FIR based on statements you receive? You have to apply your mind. How can the report help you now? That will help you during the course of enquiry/investigation. We cannot even understand. This is pure scuttling of orders/directives of this court,' the bench said. An hour later, Venegaonkar took instructions from the concerned officials and informed the court that an FIR will be filed by May 3 at the instance of the crime branch officer.
