Attachment by Civil or other Court or other Competent Authority
(1). In HOs, if money at the credit of a depositor in the POSB is attached by the order of a Court or by any authority having the power of Court for the purpose, this order must be complied with. The Head Postmaster, however, should bear in mind that an order of attachment is not an order of payment, and that until an express order is received requiring him to pay the amount attached into the Court or to the Authority, he is required only to hold the amount attached in deposit, resisting any attempt at withdrawal by the depositor or any other person. The order of the Court or the authority should be maintained in a guard file and in Finacle CBS Application; the account should be frozen by selecting appropriate option (Debit/Credit Freeze) to avoid any further transaction.
(2). So long as the payment of a sum attached is not ordered by the Court or the authority, the Head Postmaster has the opportunity of representing to the court or to the authority any objections there may be to such payment. In the particular cases described below, the instructions laid down should be carefully followed: -
If the order of attachment relates to the balance at credit of a deceased depositor, the Head Postmaster should at once inform the court or the authority that the depositor is dead and that the money belongs to the heirs of the deceased depositor and should request the court or the authority to allow him (the head Postmaster) and the heirs, an opportunity of showing cause why the amount should not be paid. To enable the Head Postmaster to carry out the instructions regarding the accounts of deceased depositor, he must on receipt of an order of attachment at once take steps to ascertain whether the depositor is alive or not.
Note 1: After taking action as required in the foregoing sub-rule if a notice of demand for payment of the attached amount or any portion thereof is received from the court or the authority, the Head Postmaster should inform the Head of the Region/Circle on the receipt of the notice and at the same time write to the court as follows: -
“The Orders in question will be complied with immediately on receipt of instructions from the Head of the Region/Circle, whose sanction is necessary.”
Note 2: In HOs, if the court or the authority orders the payment of a sum attached or any portion thereof, payment should be made in the usual manner, the signature of the court or the authority being accepted on the warrant of payment, but the production of the depositor's passbook need not be insisted upon. The payment order of the court or the authority, in original should be sent with the warrant of payment to the SBCO.
Exception: The signature of the court or the authority on the application for withdrawal and the warrant of payment need not be insisted upon, if the court or the authority refuses to give it. In such cases, the order of the Court or the authority asking for the withdrawal of the amount and the receipt given by the court or the authority for the amount should be considered as equivalent to the application for withdrawal and the warrant of payment. The payment should be noted on the court's or the authority's order over the postmaster's signature.
(3). If the order of attachment relates to an account which stands opened at a SO, or at a BO, in account with a SO, instructions in the matter should be issued at once to the SPM concerned.
(4). In SOs, if money at credit of a depositor is attached by order of a Civil Court or any competent authority, the sub postmaster will receive the instructions of the HO as to the future procedure in respect of withdrawals from the account. If the order of attachment is issued by the court of the competent authority direct to the SPM, he should send the order to the HO and ask for instructions. To prevent any withdrawal HO should take action to freeze the account in CBS Application.
Note: In case of an account at a BO the account office should issue suitable instructions to the BO which should make a note against the last transaction in the SB Journal.
