Bank Account Frozen by a Court Order? What the Bank Can and Cannot Do

Why the bank cannot help you here

Once a bank has been served with or notified of a court order, it is administratively bound to comply with it until the court itself says otherwise. Persuading the branch, or even the bank's Principal Nodal Officer, to vary or lift a judicial order is not something within their power, no matter how reasonable your case is. That is not the bank being difficult: it genuinely has no legal authority to disregard what a court has directed.

Step 1: get the order itself, not just a description of it

Ask the bank in writing for a copy of the order or intimation it received, its date, the issuing court, and the case or order number. If the bank will only describe the order rather than hand over a copy, apply directly to the relevant court's registry for a certified copy, citing the case or order number if you have it. A certified copy of the actual order, not a summary of it, is the starting point for everything that follows, including any advocate you later engage.

Step 2: confirm exactly what the order requires

Some orders freeze an account entirely; others attach only a specified sum, or a particular deposit. Ask the bank to confirm in writing which applies to you. If the order names a specific amount and the bank has restricted more than that, point out the mismatch and ask the bank to correct how it has implemented the order. This is a request to align the restriction with what the order actually says, not a request to vary the order itself, so it is worth raising with the bank directly before assuming a court application is needed for it.

Step 3: what you can still ask the bank for

• Written confirmation of the date the order was received or served
• Confirmation of which specific accounts or deposits at that bank are covered, since an order sometimes names only one account, not everything you hold there
• Confirmation of whether the amount actually restricted matches the amount in the order
• A written acknowledgement that the bank will act promptly once it receives any subsequent order from the court varying or recalling the restriction

Step 4: gather the case details an advocate will need

Before you engage an advocate, it helps to have on hand: the case or order number, the issuing court, the date of the order, the next hearing date if there is one, and, if you know it, who obtained the order and their advocate on record. Having this assembled saves time and cost once you do sit down with counsel.

Step 5: variation or recall is a court step, not a bank step

To have a judicial attachment or restraint varied, reduced or recalled, the remedy is an application before the very court that passed the order, not a letter to the bank and not a fresh proceeding elsewhere. This is not a do-it-yourself step: it needs an advocate. If you are already in a related court proceeding, an interim variation may sometimes be sought within that same matter.

Once such an application is filed, it is reasonable to tell the bank, in writing: "I am pursuing variation or recall of the existing order before the court, and will provide the bank with any subsequent order passed by the court." That tells the bank what is happening without asking it to do anything it cannot do.

When to bring in an advocate

Reasonable to handle yourself: writing to the bank and, if necessary, the court registry for a certified copy of the order and its particulars, and confirming which accounts and amounts are actually covered.

• Get an advocate for any application to vary, recall or vacate the order
• Get an advocate for any appearance before the court that passed the order
• Get an advocate for any question about whether the order was correctly obtained or served on you, for instance if you were never made a party to the proceeding, or the order appears to name the wrong account: those require the order's actual text to be reviewed by someone qualified to do it

Frequently asked questions