• Partnership Firm Bank account freezed on request of sleeping partner

1. Two of the partners having 14 and 1 percent share in a partnership firm created a dispute and sent a letter to Bank for stopping the transaction in bank account. 
2. These two partners who complained are not authorised signatories of the firm and are like sleeping partners. There is a specific clause in the basic partnership deed that the bank operations will be done by specific partners and these two partner have signed that partnership deed. 
3. BAnk has freezed the acxounts and one of them is a RERA dedicated account. 
4. The firm is a Builder and Deceloper firm and deceloping a project where firm has already received a handsome amount. 
5. Due to the freezing of account many payments got delayed and many cheques are bounced. Police complain is also done by many vendors. 
6. What shluld be the course of action from other partners.
Asked 7 years ago in Civil Law

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9 Answers

Bank have to see the interest of all the partners as account is opened by all the partners even authorised signatories are different.

Please sort out the difference as soon as possible to operate the accounts else there will cases of 138 on all the signatories partners

Vimlesh Prasad Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
6851 Answers
23 Consultations

The other partners and bank should be given notice on illegaly freezing the business account without intimation and notice to the effect

The bank was under duty to inform all the partners if freezing account without order of any government authority on request of single partner which not legal.

Secondly under the deed of partnership the said partner was not authorized to operate the account so he was in not capacity to give bank an order to freeze the accounts.

In case issue them.legal notice and seek compensation for damages from bank and the partner as it will be there liability to compensate all the default occurred due to there fault.

Further a civil suit for claiming damages can be initiated against them an an interim.order to start account can be taken form court or the bank can be asked in written to start an account failing which a criminal and civil action can be taken.

Only these bodies has authority to order freezing of account, so the action of the bank is illegal and damages shall be claimed from them,

Reserve Bank of India

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Income-tax authorities

Indian Courts

First of all give bank a legal notice for damages and to unfreeze the account if bak fails to respond file a complaint with baking ombudsman as well as civil suit for recovering damages.

Also 138 notices shall be bought before court and same damages shall be calculated. Also if any inquire in 138 you can take the stand can agree to pay amount in stipulated time.to drop 138 NI proceedings.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25513 Answers
179 Consultations

For the partner's dispute, the consumers at large, must not get any kind of harm. If there is a dispute between the partners then solve them asap. If the dispute can be solved using alternative dispute resolution then partners can use the ADR way to solve. If it cannot be solved then can seek a solution via court procedure.

As you said in your post that " There is a specific clause in the basic partnership deed that the bank operations will be done by specific partners and these two partners have signed that partnership deed. ", then steps can be taken by those specific partners so that bank accounts start operating and further delays are controlled. If required then with proper proof (the partnership deed, etc), the specific partners can talk to the bank, so that bank account related transaction start to operate. If required then the other partners can seek police help, and if emergency then can seek help from any local lawyer.

Moumita Mitra
Advocate, Kolkata
366 Answers
1 Consultation

1. Open anew account immediately as the bank on complaint of firm often freezes the account as mere agreement among the partners to entrust one or two specified partner to operate the account is not enough.

2. Otherwise file a case in civil court and seek injunction so the bank is restrained from freezing the account anymore. if you get the injunction order then the account will be operative cone again.

3. Check whether any arbitration clause in the partnership deed or not. If yes then you can get ex aprte order from arbitrator to remove the freezing order once again which does not take long time.

4. Since it is a legal dispute which often takes long time to get resolved it is advisable that you sort out the problem amicably.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
23653 Answers
537 Consultations

Issue legal notice bank to de freeze account

2) mention they are not the authorised signatories

3) they are only sleeping partners

4) if Bank refuses to de freeze account file suit and seek court orders to defreeze account

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99776 Answers
8145 Consultations

Hi,

You are suggested to approach high court/district court for getting the account being operative and you may also file suitable complaints with the sleeping partners.

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
7169 Answers
16 Consultations

1. The said partners are also owners of the said partnership firm for which they have the right to ask the Bank to freeze the operating account of their partnership firm.

2. What is the dispute you have entered with the said two partners?

3. The easiest way to solve the problem is to get the dispute with the partners settled and make the said account operative.

4. If the same is not possible, file a case against them on the ground based on which the dispute has arisen prompting them to write to the Bank to freeze the account and thereafter file an application before the Court to instruct the Bank to allow operation of the said account, may be in a limited way to avoid the complaints/cases lodged/filed by the buyers of the flats.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27703 Answers
726 Consultations

Issue a legal notice to the bank for defreezing the account which has been freezed without any valid reason or without any base.

You can warn the bank in the legal notice to drag them to consumer forum or banking ombudsman for this illegal activity.

Without a resolution copy or intimation from the firm about this, just like that, based on some partners instructions, the bank cannot freeze the firm's current account.

You can make a representation with the higher authority of the bank about this and seek their intervention for an early and expeditious solution to this.

If nothing works out then you can approach either banking ombudsman or consumer forum.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89978 Answers
2492 Consultations

Approach the civil court and get injunction for all the illegalities of the said partners and de-freezing of the said account.

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
34514 Answers
249 Consultations

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