Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
The issue of legatees versus nominees continues to cause confusion despite numerous
judicial decisions which clearly confirm that legal heirs inherit assets over nominees.
On 14 November 2019 this position was confirmed once again when the National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) held in Oswal Greentech v Mr Pankaj Oswal(1) that:
Standard Chartered Bank – this policy recommends that all depositors should avail
of the nomination facility. In the event of the depositor's death, the nominee will
receive the balance outstanding in the account as a trustee of the legal heirs.(5)
ICICI Bank – a nomination gives the bank clearance to pay the outstanding balance
into the depositor's account. In the event that the claim has not settled and a probate
or succession certificate is presented, the bank will discharge its obligation in
accordance with the certificate after giving due notice to the nominee.(6)
Kotak Mahindra Bank – this policy states that the balance in a deceased's account
will be paid to the nominee. However, in the absence of a nomination and disputes
among the claimants, the bank will pay the amount outstanding into the account of
the deceased person on joint application by all legal heirs.(7)
Oswal has hopefully settled this issue once and for all. As discussed above, individuals
should note that there is a clear difference between the rights of nominees and legal heirs in
order to ensure that their estate passes smoothly to their heirs.
Endnotes
(1) Company Appeal (AT) 410/2018.
(2) Shakti Yezdani v Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar and Nanak S Ghatalia v Swati
Shatishchandra Ghatalia, Appeal 313/2015, Notice of Motion 822/2014 Suit 503/2014 and
Appeal 311/2015 in Testamentary Petition 457/2014. Further information on this case is
available here.
(3) 2008 (105) DRJ 29.
(4) (1990) 1 SCC 536.
(5) Further information is available here.
(6) Further information is available here.
(7) Further information is available here.