Lawyers musn’t allow clients to pollute judicial system: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has ruled against a 22-year-old man’s plea to unfreeze his bank account, finding him to be a "money mule" after over Rs 50 lakh was transferred through the account within 15 days. Justice M A Abdul Hakhim directed police to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against the account holder under Section 111 of the Banking Companies (Nationalisation) Act (BNS) and harshly criticized his lawyers for allowing "false statements" in the case, asserting that advocates should not enable litigants to "pollute the judicial system."

The court emphasized that advocates, being officers of the court, must not permit their clients to make false statements when they are aware that the clients are doing so. This order comes after bank officials had submitted five requests to freeze the account, totaling Rs 21 lakh, due to the abrupt increase in transactions and multiple Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) notices.

The man argued that he operates two businesses and receives salaries from them, with his father occasionally sending funds in the account. However, the court found his explanations inconclusive, noting that the documents would reveal that he had made false statements in his pleadings.