Legally Bharat

A city sessions court overturned a magistrate’s order to Punjab National Bank’s (PNB’s) Ernakulam branch in Kerala regarding the transfer of Rs 7.70 lakh from a cyber fraud account to Yamini Porval, a resident of Satellite area here. She was defrauded of Rs 26.96 lakh allegedly by cybercrooks.

PNB contested the magistrate’s order as the cyber fraud account held no balance. Additionally, the bank faced multiple court orders from various states demanding payments from the same account to other cybercrime victims. The account, which received fraudulently obtained funds, was discovered empty when the crime came to light.

Porval reported to the cybercrime cell about losing over Rs 26 lakh from her accounts. While no FIR was registered, investigators traced Rs 7.70 lakh transferred to the PNB account in Ernakulam. The police subsequently froze this account under CrPC section 102.

After part of her sum was traced in the PNB account, Porval filed an application before a magisterial court at Gheekanta to recover her Rs 7.70 lakh from PNB, with the police raising no objections to the transfer. On Dec 9, 2023, the magistrate ordered the amount’s transfer to Porval with specific conditions.

However, PNB appealed against this order, arguing that they weren’t notified by the court before passing the order, and that the account held zero balance. The bank also highlighted multiple claims from cybercrime victims across states, with various courts ordering refunds from the same account. The bank expressed inability to comply due to insufficient funds in the alleged cyber fraud account.

The sessions court, upon hearing PNB’s appeal, cancelled the magistrate’s order, stating, “It would be unjust and improper to compel the bank to transfer the amount to one claimant while other claimants remain unaddressed, especially when the account balance does not support the payment.”

While directing the magistrate to hear Porval’s case again, the court instructed the trial court to obtain PNB’s comprehensive report on all claims against the fraudulent account.

  • Published On Nov 24, 2024 at 11:28 PM IST

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