<h1>Uniform SOP for freezing bank accounts in cybercrime probes, with 24-hour notice and BNSS 106(3) reporting under review</h1> The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a petition seeking directions to the Centre and RBI to formulate a uniform SOP governing freezing and de-freezing of bank accounts in cybercrime investigations, with the operative consequence that the Court may lay down nationwide procedural safeguards and standardised criteria for such actions. The petition also seeks guidelines requiring investigating agencies to issue a written, reasoned freezing order and intimate the account holder within 24 hours, which would impose notice-and-reasons requirements as a condition for account freezes. It further invokes the statutory mandate under BNSS section 106(3)/CrPC section 102(3) to report seizures/freezing forthwith to the jurisdictional magistrate, which would require prompt judicial reporting and oversight.