Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a major change in the rules of bank locker. For this, she has introduced the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in which it is proposed to increase the number of nominees of bank locker.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently proposed a major change in the rules of bank locker. For this, she has introduced the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which proposes to increase the number of nominees of bank lockers. According to the current rules, one nominee can be kept for a bank locker or joint bank locker, but now preparations are being made to increase it to 4.
The nominee of the bank locker (Bank Locker Nominee Rules) can take custody of the items kept in the locker after the death of the account holder. Under this bill, there will be two options to make 4 people nominees. In the first option, the right of the four nominees on the bank locker will be equal to the pre-decided share. In the second option, the nominee who is at the top of the nomination list will get priority. That is, on the death of the account holder, the first nominee will get the right to the bank locker. If the first nominee dies, the second nominee will be given priority.
What are the rules regarding nominee at present?
- If the locker holder has nominated someone for his locker, then after his death, that nominee has the right to open the locker and take out its belongings. Banks give this access to the nominee after complete verification.
- If the nominee wants, he can continue the locker or change the locker or even close the locker after taking out his belongings. However, the nominee has to apply to the bank with the necessary documents to use the locker.
- In case of a joint locker, if one person dies, then the other person can open the locker along with the nominee.
- If there is no nominee, then the bank makes a policy to give access to the locker to the legal heir of the locker holder. If the nominee wants to continue the locker, then a new contract is made for him.
How safe is a bank locker?
Bank lockers are very secure and confidential. This is the reason why the bank charges you an annual fee for using this locker. It is also called Safe Deposit Locker. Two keys are required to open it. One key is with the customer and the other with the bank manager. Unless both keys are used, the locker will not open. If your or the bank’s key is lost, then either another key will have to be made or that locker will have to be broken. There are many rules for breaking the locker, in such a situation, a bank locker is a good place to keep something very safe.
What will happen if the locker key is lost?
If the key of the bank locker is lost, then first of all you have to inform the bank about it. Also, an FIR has to be lodged for the loss of the key. If the key of your bank locker is lost, then two things can happen in that situation-
First, the bank issues a new key for your locker. For this, the bank will get a duplicate key made. However, there is a risk in getting a duplicate key made that the person who made the duplicate key of that locker may do some wrong thing in the future.
The second situation is that the bank will issue you another locker and the first locker will be broken. After breaking the locker, all its stuff will be shifted to another locker and its key will be given to the customer. However, the customer may have to bear all the expenses from breaking the locker to getting it repaired again. In such a situation, try to keep the key very carefully.
How is the locker broken?
The arrangement of the bank locker is such that from opening it to breaking it, during every work, both the customer and the bank officer are present. Whenever a customer goes to the bank and wants to open his locker, the bank manager also goes to the locker room with him. There, two keys are used in the locker. One key is with the customer and the other with the bank. Unless both the keys are used, the locker will not open. After the locker is unlocked, the bank officer leaves the room and the customer can see, change or take out the stuff kept in the locker with complete privacy.
Similarly, when a bank locker is broken, it is necessary for the customer as well as the bank officer to be present there. If the locker is taken jointly, then it is necessary for all the members to be present there. If the customer gives in writing that the locker can be broken even in his absence, then the locker can be broken without the customer and the stuff present in it can be shifted to another locker.
When can the bank break the locker on its own?
If there is a criminal case against a person and it seems that the person has hidden something in his locker, which may be related to the crime, then the locker can be broken. However, in this situation, along with the bank officials, police officers are also required.
According to SBI, if a person does not pay the rent of his locker for 3 years, then the bank can recover its rent by breaking the locker. If the customer’s locker remains in-operative for 7 years and there is no trace of the customer, even if the rent keeps coming, the bank can still break that locker.
