Once the Bank permits legal heirs/mandated heir as per their own norms, without any order of Court regarding the items in locker, whether Bank needs the services of a certified jeweler, for preparing the list of inventory in their stipulated Annexure 7a, which do not contain any column for valuation of items.
Whether Banks can open the sealed/closed packets found in locker while releasing them to the legal heirs/mandated legal heir? Whether the Bank can decline the request of legal heirs for allotment of the locker for hiring by the legal heirs of the deceased.
I believe that, as the settlement is as per the Bank’s norms and not against court order, understand that the Bank cannot open the sealed/closed packets found in locker while releasing them to the legal heirs/mandated legal heir and also the Bank do not need the services of a certified jeweler, as the settlement is not any any order od Court.
Seeking guidance for any action against any of Bank’s violation of statutory guidelines.
In this context, I reproduce some points in the Model Operational Procedure for Return of Articles in Safe Deposit Lockers/ Safe Custody, against respective points in the MOP as hereunder:
3.1.4. Safe Deposit Lockers
Without Nomination: Legal heir(s) of the deceased locker hirer or a person mandated by the legal heir(s) will be allowed to access the locker and remove the contents on verification of proof of death of locker hirer. The legal heir(s) will have to produce documents to establish his / their identity. Before permitting legal heir(s) to remove contents of the Safe Deposit Locker the bank would prepare an inventory of the articles in the presence of legal heir(s)/mandate holder and two independent witnesses. Form for taking inventory is enclosed as Annexure – 7(a).
2. Safe Deposit Lockers
(iii) Banks are not required to open sealed/closed packets found in locker while releasing them to the nominee or nominees and surviving hirers. Descripttion of the sealed/closed packet(s) should however be mentioned in the inventory.
