BANK LOCKER CLAIM AFTER A DEATH
Request to open the locker of a person who has died and release its contents
Date: 2 April 2026, at Chandigarh
To: The Branch Manager, Punjab National Bank, Sector 17, Chandigarh
From: Aarav Singh, Sector 35, Chandigarh. Telephone: +91 XXXXX XXXXX. Email: aarav@example.com.
Subject: Death of Harpreet Singh and request to open locker no. L-214
Sir or Madam,
- 1. The locker. Harpreet Singh hired locker no. L-214 at your branch. The locker was hired in the sole name of the person who died.
- 2. The death. Harpreet Singh died on 1 April 2026 at Chandigarh. The death certificate is DTH/2026/118, and a copy is enclosed. Please record the death against the locker from that date.
- 3. My right to ask. My relationship to the person who died: Spouse. I claim as the nominee recorded for the locker.
- 4. The legal heirs. Apart from me, the other legal heirs of Harpreet Singh are: Naina Singh and Meera Singh, Chandigarh. All the legal heirs are named above, and each of them has agreed in writing to this request.
- 5. The key. I hold the key to the locker and will bring it to the opening.
- 6. What I ask you to do.
(a) Mark the locker as that of a person who has died, and do not let anyone open it until this claim is decided.
(b) Tell me in writing the forms and papers you need from me and from the other legal heirs, and whether you will deal with the claim on the papers I name or ask for a court certificate.
(c) Fix a date and time to open the locker in the presence of your officers and of me, and tell me whom else I should bring.
(d) Make a written inventory of everything found in the locker at the opening, give me a signed copy, and tell me how and to whom the contents will be handed over.
(e) Tell me any rent due on the locker and any charge for opening it, with the rule on which you rely.
- 7. What I accept. I understand that a nominee is dealt with so that you are safely discharged, and that this does not by itself decide who owns the contents as against the other legal heirs. If anything is handed over to me and it is later found that someone else had a better right, I will account to that person for what I received.
- 8. If the claim is not settled. If you reject the claim or do not reply within 30 days, I will take the matter to the Reserve Bank's Ombudsman, and I am free to bring a consumer complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
Please acknowledge this letter and tell me the name and telephone number of the officer who will handle the claim.
ENCLOSURES
Death certificate, identity and address proofs, proof of heirship, and the locker key.
LEGAL BASIS
Punjab: A bank may deal with a locker after the hirer's death on the nomination recorded for it, and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 contains the provisions on nomination for safety lockers. A nominee is dealt with so that the bank is discharged and does not by that fact alone become the owner of the contents as against the other heirs; the order in which a Hindu's heirs inherit is set by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and other communities follow their own law. Where there is no nominee, the bank may ask for proof of heirship, an indemnity, or a succession certificate, which the District Judge grants under the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The bank decides the claim through its branch manager and nodal officer, under its own policy for lockers of deceased hirers. A claimant who is not satisfied can complain to the Reserve Bank's Ombudsman or file a consumer complaint before the District Commission. A dispute among the heirs is decided by the civil court, and an appeal goes to the District Judge or to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.