Order for bank to refund cyberfraud victim reversed

Order for bank to refund cyberfraud victim reversed 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 24.11.2024

Ahmedabad : A city sessions court overturned a magistrate’s order issued to Punjab National Bank’s (PNB’s) Ernakulam branch in Kerala, regarding the transfer of Rs 7.70 lakh from a cyberfraud account to cybercrime victim Yamini Porval, a resident of the Satellite area here. 

She was defrauded of Rs 26.96 lakh allegedly by cybercrooks. PNB contested the magistrate’s order as there was no balance in the cyberfraud account. Additionally, the bank faced multiple court orders from different states demanding payments from the same account to other cybercrime victims. The account, which fraudulently obtained funds, was found to be 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 immediately, investigators traced Rs 7.70 lakh transferred to the PNB account in Ernakulam. The police subsequently froze the 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 here to recover Rs 7.70 lakh from PNB, with the police raising no objections to the transfer. 

On Dec 9, 2023, the magistrate ordered that the money be transferred 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 different courts ordering refunds from the same account. The bank expressed its 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. The magistrate has been ordered to hear PNB before issuing directions, and the bank has been restrained from disbursing funds until the magistrate’s final decision on distribution.