Probo’s ₹100 Cr bank account remains frozen; Punjab & Haryana HC seek state's reply

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday declined to grant immediate relief to Probo Media Technologies Private Limited in its plea to de-freeze bank accounts frozen by Haryana Police amid allegations of gambling and cheating. The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 10.

A bench led by Justice Anil Kshetarpal directed the state to file a response on whether the bank accounts could be partially de-frozen to allow payment of employee salaries and essential business expenses. During the hearing, Probo’s counsel emphasized that the company was currently seeking limited relief to manage day-to-day operations. The state’s counsel requested additional time to obtain complete instructions, which will be addressed in Tuesday’s proceedings.

This legal battle follows a recent Supreme Court decision on June 2, where a plea to de-freeze a bank account containing over ₹100 crore was rejected. The account was frozen as part of an investigation by Haryana Police after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed on March 25, 2025, at Sector 50 Police Station, Gurugram.

The FIR, filed by a local resident, Abhishek Jain, alleges he lost ₹20,000 while using the Probo app, which allows users to place wagers on the outcomes of real-world events through binary “Yes” or “No” responses. Jain claimed the app misled users by disguising gambling as “opinion trading.”

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Probo in the Supreme Court, argued that freezing the company’s entire bank account over a ₹20,000 dispute was a disproportionate measure that has paralyzed business operations.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Augustine George Masih, acknowledged the seemingly minor nature of the allegation but noted that the High Court was already handling the matter. It advised Probo to seek interim relief from the High Court’s vacation bench ahead of the July session.

The FIR invokes Section 13 of the Public Gambling Act, 1867, and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to cheating and dishonest delivery of property. Probo directors Ashish Garg, Sachin Subashchandra Gupta, and Shweta Sharma are named as accused in the complaint.