PRACTICE AREAS

Cyber Law & Cyber Crime

The digital economy has created unprecedented opportunities, but it has also increased exposure to cyber risk. We represent individuals and organisations in matters involving cybercrime, online fraud, digital investigations, and technology-related disputes.

Services include:

  • Cyber fraud complaints and FIR registration assistance
  • Representation before Cyber Crime Police Stations and State Cyber Cells
  • Online financial fraud recovery support
  • Account-freezing disputes arising from cyber complaints
  • Social media offences and online defamation matters
  • Identity theft and impersonation matters
  • Cryptocurrency-related disputes
  • Digital harassment and cyber stalking matters
  • Cyber extortion and ransomware-related matters
  • Incident response support and digital evidence preservation

Why this matters:Cyber crime complaints filed by anyone — including third parties unrelated to the eventual account-holder — can trigger automatic freezing of bank accounts, suspension of digital wallets, or restriction of merchant accounts through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Acting quickly and through the correct procedural channel materially affects how fast an issue is resolved.

 

Bank Account Unfreezing & Debit Freeze Removal

One of the fastest-growing categories of disputes in India involves the freezing of bank accounts following cyber fraud complaints — often affecting individuals and businesses who had no direct involvement in any fraud.

Why accounts get frozen Banks freeze accounts (fully or by way of a "debit freeze") on instructions from cyber crime authorities once a complaint traces a disputed transaction to that account — sometimes several transactions removed from the original fraud. This can happen even where the account-holder simply received a legitimate payment that was later flagged as part of a fraud chain.

Individual Account Unfreezing

  • Complete debit freeze removal
  • Partial freeze disputes
  • Drafting responses to bank and police notices
  • Representation before the relevant Cyber Police Station
  • Coordination during the investigation
  • Filing release applications before the investigating officer or competent authority
  • High Court writ petitions where administrative remedies are exhausted or delayed

Business Account Unfreezing

  • Company current account freeze matters
  • Startup operating account freezes
  • Merchant settlement account restrictions
  • Escrow account restrictions
  • Multi-bank freezing disputes (where the same complaint affects accounts across several banks)
  • Preparing transaction explanation reports and source-of-funds documentation

Layered Account Matters Cyber fraud investigations often track money through a chain of "layered" accounts:

  • Layer 1 accounts (closest to the original fraud)
  • Layer 2 accounts
  • Layer 3 / beneficiary accounts
  • Accounts flagged on suspicion of being "mule" accounts
  • Accounts affected by third-party transfer investigations

We regularly assist clients whose accounts are frozen despite having no knowing involvement in the underlying fraud, by demonstrating the legitimacy of the transaction trail and pursuing release through the appropriate process.

Typical process: Notice/freeze review → representation to bank and investigating officer → submission of supporting documentation → release application → escalation (including writ proceedings) if administrative steps stall

 

Merchant ID (MID) & Payment Gateway Unfreezing

Online businesses depend on uninterrupted access to payment gateways and merchant accounts. Suspension of a Merchant Identification Number (MID) — even temporarily — can halt revenue collection and damage customer trust.

We advise on disputes involving:

  • MID suspension notices and merchant termination disputes
  • Chargeback disputes
  • Risk review proceedings initiated by the payment aggregator
  • Reserve fund disputes and settlement-withholding matters
  • Merchant onboarding disputes

Payment gateway and aggregator matters we handle representation for include disputes involving:Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, CCAvenue, PhonePe PG, Paytm PG, Juspay, and other payment aggregators operating in India.

Services include:

  • MID restoration requests
  • Payment settlement release and frozen settlement recovery
  • Compliance documentation review
  • KYC and AML compliance advisory connected to the dispute
  • Drafting representations under the aggregator's grievance and dispute-resolution process, and escalation where required

 

Cyber Fraud Recovery

Victims of cyber fraud often do not know what legal steps are available, or how quickly they need to act to preserve a realistic chance of recovery.

Types of fraud we assist with:

  • Investment fraud and trading scams
  • WhatsApp and Telegram-based fraud schemes
  • UPI fraud and QR-code scams
  • Remote-access app fraud
  • Job scams and loan-app fraud
  • Romance scams
  • Cryptocurrency fraud

Recovery support includes:

  • Filing the cyber complaint and assisting with FIR registration
  • Coordination with law enforcement during the investigation
  • Assisting in tracing the transaction trail
  • Liaison with the victim's bank and the recipient bank(s)
  • Filing recovery and refund applications
  • Court proceedings where recovery through police/regulatory channels is not sufficient
  • Compensation claims, where available

A note on timing: In digital fraud cases, the window for freezing fraudulent transfers before funds are moved further is often narrow. Early complaint filing and documentation significantly improve the prospects of recovery.

 

PMLA & Economic Offences

Technology-driven financial transactions increasingly attract scrutiny from investigative agencies, and digital evidence now plays a central role in most economic offence investigations.

PMLA Proceedings

  • Responding to ED summons
  • Advisory and representation during statement recording
  • Search and seizure matters
  • Attachment proceedings
  • Defending against "proceeds of crime" allegations
  • Compliance reviews for reporting entities

Economic Offences

  • Banking fraud allegations
  • Corporate fraud investigations
  • Financial misconduct matters
  • Regulatory investigations by EOW and other agencies
  • Digital asset and cryptocurrency-related disputes

We help clients understand their rights and obligations at each stage of an economic offence investigation, and prepare representations and responses designed to protect their legal position.

 

Data Privacy & DPDP Act Compliance

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act") has fundamentally changed how organisations in India must collect, process, store, and share personal data. Non-compliance carries direct regulatory and reputational risk.

Services include:

  • DPDP Act compliance programmes and gap assessments
  • Privacy policy drafting
  • Consent management and consent architecture design
  • Data processing agreements
  • Vendor and third-party compliance reviews
  • Privacy audits
  • Data governance frameworks
  • Data breach response advisory
  • Employee privacy policies
  • Cross-border data transfer advisory
  • Data retention frameworks

Industries we typically support on privacy matters: SaaS companies, startups, fintech companies, e-commerce businesses, government entities, healthcare platforms, and educational institutions — each of which carries distinct data-handling obligations under the DPDP framework.

 

Fintech & Digital Payments Advisory

India's fintech ecosystem operates within a rapidly evolving regulatory environment shaped by the RBI, NPCI, and related bodies. We provide legal support to payment gateways, payment aggregators, fintech companies, digital lenders, merchants, and technology service providers operating in this space.

Services include:

  • RBI compliance support and regulatory notice responses
  • Payment aggregator and payment gateway regulatory advisory
  • Merchant agreements and payment aggregator agreements
  • AML and KYC advisory and policy drafting
  • Digital wallet compliance
  • Risk management frameworks
  • Regulatory audits
  • Consumer dispute management
  • Fintech legal documentation more broadly

 

Technology Contracts & Commercial Advisory

Technology businesses rely on robust contractual frameworks to protect their operations, intellectual property, and commercial relationships.

We draft and review:

  • Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
  • SaaS Agreements
  • Software Licensing Agreements
  • Technology Transfer Agreements
  • API Terms of Use
  • Platform Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policies and Cookie Policies
  • Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Vendor and Service Agreements
  • Software Development Agreements
  • Cloud Service Agreements
  • Technology procurement contracts

Our drafting work is informed by the regulatory matters we handle, so contracts are built with an awareness of how disputes in this space actually play out — not just generic templates.

 

Government & Public Sector Advisory

We assist government departments, public sector undertakings, and digital public infrastructure initiatives with technology law, governance, procurement, and compliance requirements.

Services include:

  • MoU and MSA drafting and vetting
  • Digital governance frameworks
  • Public procurement advisory
  • Data governance policies
  • Information Technology Act compliance reviews
  • Digital platform governance
  • Open-source licensing advisory
  • Public-private partnership documentation
  • AI governance frameworks
  • Risk assessments and legal policy advisory