Disposed¶31

Goodskill Securities and Services Limited v. the Branch Manager, Icici Bank & Ors.

Delhi HC9 Apr 2026W.P.(C)/4725/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi High Court; W.P.(C) 4725/2026; Goodskill Securities and Services Limited v. The Branch Manager, ICICI Bank & Ors.; Jasmeet Singh, J.; decided 09.04.2026; Article 226; bank account freeze/defreeze; lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/-; NBFC; complaints from Ministry of Home Affairs; mandamus; certiorari; Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 300A; principles of natural justice; address verification; account operational subject to lien; petition disposed.

What did the court decide?

Petition disposed of with directions: Respondent No. 1 to mark a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- on the petitioner's account; petitioner to attend the bank branch on 17.04.2026 at 12:30 PM with documentary proof of address; and subject to verification and the lien, the account to be defreezed forthwith and not later than 48 hours from 17.04.2026. ¶31

Goodskill Securities and Services Limited Vs the… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶31

Issue for consideration

Whether the freeze instructions/liens issued by Respondents 2-6 and executed by Respondent No. 1 on the petitioner's bank account No. 054705001873 were illegal and arbitrary and liable to be quashed, and whether Respondent No. 1 should immediately defreeze and restore operational access to the account. +1 more

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Court's answer

Respondent No. 1 is directed to mark a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- on the petitioner's account.

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Ratio / Principle

The petitioner is directed to visit the branch of Respondent No. 1 Bank on 17.04.2026 at 12:30 PM with documentary proof of address.

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Key takeaways

Subject to verification and the lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/-, the petitioner's account shall be defreezed forthwith and not later than 48 hours from 17.04.2026.ratio¶30
The petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms, along with pending applications, if any.ratio¶31

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ petition under Article 226 by Goodskill Securities and Services Limited (an NBFC) whose bank account No. 054705001873 with ICICI Bank (Respondent No. 1) was frozen in October 2025 without prior notice, reportedly on complaints received from the Ministry of Home Affairs, with a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/-. Jasmeet Singh, J., noting the petitioner's agreement to the lien remaining marked on the account, issued the following directions: (i) Respondent No. 1 to mark a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- on the account; (ii) the petitioner to visit the branch on 17.04.2026 at 12:30 PM with documentary proof of address; and (iii) subject to verification and the lien, the account to be defreezed forthwith and not later than 48 hours from 17.04.2026. The petition was disposed of in these terms, along with pending applications, if any. Dasti.

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$~64

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- W.P.(C) 4725/2026 GOODSKILL SECURITIES AND SERVICES LIMITED

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.....Petitioner Through: Mr Varshesh Khurana and Ms Vaishali Chattlani, Advs.

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versus THE BRANCH MANAGER, ICICI BANK & ORS. ....Respondents Through: Mr. Amol Sharma, Adv. Ms Tanya Bajla Adv, for R1

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH O R D E R % 09.04.2026

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This is a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following prayers:-

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“a) Issue a writ in nature of Mandamus, or any other appropriate writ, order, direction quashing the freeze instructions/liens issued by the Respondent no 2-6 and executed by Respondent no 1 in respect of the Petitioner above said bank account number;

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b) Quash the impugned action of respondent no 2-6 and direct Respondent no 1 to immediately defreeze and restore operational access to the petitioner bank account number (s) 054705001873;

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c) That issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus, or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, quashing and setting aside the lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- illegally and arbitrarily imposed on the Petitioner's aforesaid bank account, along with any other liens or restrictions placed

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/04/2026 at 12:29:20

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thereon, being violative of the principles of natural justice and imposed without any prior notice, intimation, or communication to the Petitioner, and consequently direct the concerned authorities to forthwith remove the said lien and permit the Petitioner to freely operate the said bank account; d) That this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari, calling for the entire records from Respondent No. I, including all directions, communications, notices, orders, or instructions issued by the concerned police authorities, pursuant to which the Petitioner's aforesaid bank account has been frozen, and upon examination of the same be pleased to declare the said action as illegal, arbitrary and without authority of law;

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e) That this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to restrain the Respondents, their officers, agents, servants or any person acting under their authority from taking any coercive or adverse action against the Petitioner pursuant to the impugned action, during the pendency of the present writ petition, and further be pleased to direct the concerned authorities to conduct and conclude any proceedings, if any, against the Petitioner strictly in accordance with law within a time-bound period, as may be deemed fit and proper by this Hon'ble Court; f) That this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to declare the freezing of the Petitioner's aforesaid bank account by the Respondents as arbitrary, unreasonable, illegal and without authority of law, being in gross violation of the Petitioner's fundamental and constitutional rights guaranteed under

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This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/04/2026 at 12:29:20

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Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 300A of the Constitution of India, and consequently quash the said action and direct the Respondents to immediately defreeze the said bank account and permit the Petitioner to operate the same without any restriction;

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g) That this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to direct the Respondents to pay appropriate compensation to the Petitioner for the harassment, financial hardship and unlawful deprivation of property suffered by the Petitioner on account of the arbitrary and illegal freezing of the Petitioner's bank account, in violation of the Petitioner's constitutional and legal rights. ...”

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For the said reasons, issue notice.

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Mr. Sharma, learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of the respondent No.

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There is nobody appearing on behalf of other respondents, however, the matter is being taken up for hearing as respondent no. 1 is the main contesting party.

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The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner Non-Banking Financial Company (“NBFC”) has a bank account bearing No. 054705001873 with respondent No. 1 bank. In October, 2025, the petitioner came to know that its bank account has been freezed without any prior notice.

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6. My attention has been drawn to Annexure P-5 which is an email addressed by the respondent No. 1 to the petitioner showing that the said bank account has been freezed on account of complaints received from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the tune of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- and with regard to Enchanted Due Diligence by the bank.

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The petitioner is agreeable to a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/- being marked on the said account and the account may be permitted to be operational, subject to such lien.

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¶26

Mr. Sharma, learned counsel for the respondent No. 1, states that there is also an issue with regard to the address of the petitioner.

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For the said reasons, the following directions are issued:

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i. That the respondent No. 1 shall mark a lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/on the account of the petitioner.

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ii. The petitioner shall visit the branch of the respondent No. 1 Bank on 17.04.2026 at 12:30 PM with documentary proof of the address.

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iii. Subject to the verification and lien of Rs. 1,95,654.96/-, the account of the petitioner shall be defreezed forthwith and not later than 48 hours from 17.04.2026.

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The petition is disposed of in aforesaid terms, along with pending applications, if any.

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Dasti.

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JASMEET SINGH, J

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APRIL 9, 2026/AS

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 10/04/2026 at 12:29:20

Goodskill Securities and Services Limited v. the Branch Manager, Icici Bank & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Goodskill Securities and Services Limited v. the Branch Manager, Icici Bank & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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