Vignesh Natarajan v. State
In the High Court of Madras
Crl. O.P. 26083/2022
Before Justice G. Chandrasekharan
Decided on January 05, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Unfreezing of bank accounts in a case involving forgery of digital signature

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66C)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 465, 467, 468, 471)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 102)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner forged Varadarajan’s digital signature, causing a loss of ₹14.81 lakhs to Cargo International (India) Pvt. Ltd.
• On the warrant of the Investigating Officer’s order, the petitioner’s bank froze his bank accounts.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the court should pass the necessary directions for unfreezing bank accounts. These accounts were being used to run the business. Further, the petitioner was ready to deposit ₹14.81 lakhs to prove his credibility.
• The respondent’s counsel opposed the unfreezing since the amount mentioned in the FIR was less than the actual amount involved, i.e., ₹14.81 lakhs.

Opinion of the Bench

• First, the petitioner must deposit this amount. Once done, the police can issue the necessary directions for unfreezing his bank accounts.

Final Decision

• The court disposed of the petition.

Risha Thomre Rajani, an undergraduate student at NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law, Mumbai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.