Nominee Entitled To Bank Deposits After Account Holder's Death But Money Would Be Subject To Succession Laws: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has clarified that while a nominee has a right to obtain money from the bank after the account holder's death, the money received would be subject to succession laws, and the deceased's heirs would have a right to the said amount in accordance with the law. A bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Vipin Chandra Dixit observed this while dealing with a writ plea filed by Manoj Kumar Sharma, who claimed that, as the nominee, he was entitled to receive the money from the Fixed Deposit Receipts of his late mother in accordance with Section 45ZA of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. For context, in Ram Chander Talwar case, the Top Court had held that all the monies receivable by the nominee by virtue of Section 45-ZA of the 1949 Act would, therefore, form part of the estate of the deceased depositor and devolve according to the rule of succession to which the depositor may be governed. Relying on this Supreme Court ruling, in the Vineet Kumar Sharma case, the High Court observed that the nominee alone remains entitled to receive money from the bank notwithstanding any disposition, whether testamentary or otherwise.