The Karnataka High Court on Thursday disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for freezing bank accounts and applying debit restrictions in cybercrime cases. The bench, led by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha, noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is already preparing such SOPs. The PIL was filed by Pavan Vijay Sharma from Bengaluru, who raised concerns about arbitrary freezing of bank accounts and multiple lien markings by investigation agencies during cyber fraud probes. He pointed out that victims, accused, and third parties were often not clearly distinguished, causing severe hardships. During the hearing, Deputy Solicitor General Shanti Bushan H. informed the court that the MHA has circulated a draft SOP linked to the National Cyber Reporting Platform and the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System. The draft covers custody, restoration of money, and grievance redressal. The Ministry plans to finalize the SOP after consulting stakeholders. The petitioner also requested that no bank account be frozen or subjected to lien without prior verification, written reasons, and mandatory notice to the account holder. However, the court said no order was needed as the SOP process is already underway. The bench clarified that disposing of the PIL does not prevent anyone from seeking legal remedies for frozen accounts under the law.