Payment on the death of depositor.- (1) In the event of death of the depositor of a single account or of all the depositors in a joint account, the eligible balance in the account shall be payable as specified in sub-rules (2) to (6) of GSPR 2018. 

(2)  If a nomination made under rule 14 is in force at the time of death of the depositor of a single account or all the depositors of a joint account, the nominee may make an application in Form 11 to the Accounts Office for payment of the eligible balance and the application shall be accompanied by the proof of death of the depositor, and where any other nominee has also died, the proof of death of such nominee.

(3) If there are two or more surviving nominees, the eligible balance shall be paid in the proportion as specified by the depositor while making the nomination, and if no such proportion or share is specified, then in equal proportion to all the surviving nominees.

(4) If any nominee dies, his specified share in the eligible balance shall be distributed among the surviving nominees in the same proportion as their specified shares.

(5) Where the surviving nominee is a minor, the payment shall be made to a person appointed by the depositor under sub-rule (2) of rule 14 to receive such payment and, if no such person has been appointed, to the guardian of the minor.

(6) If a depositor dies and there is no nomination in force at the time of his death, and probate of his will or letters of administration of his estate or a succession certificate as granted in the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) is not produced within six months from the date of death of the depositor to the authorized officer of the Accounts Office where the account stands, then,-

(i)   If the eligible amount in the account does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh, the authorized officer of the Accounts Office or the authority specified by the Institution to which the Accounts Office belongs, may pay the same to any person appearing to him as the rightful claimant and to his satisfaction to be entitled to receive the amount or to administer the estate of the deceased, on an application in Form-11 accompanied by the following documents; namely:-

(a) Death certificate,

(b) Pass Book or deposit receipt/statement of account in original,

(c) Affidavit in Form-13,

(d) Letter of disclaimer in Form-14,

(e) Bond of Indemnity in Form-15,

(ii) if the eligible amount in a deceased account is above Rs. 5 lakh, the amount shall be paid by the Accounts office to the claimant on submission of ‘Succession Certificate’ issued by the court along with the following documents; namely:-

(a)  Claim form,

(b)  Pass Book or deposit receipt or statement of account in original,

(c)   Death certificate of the account holder.

Amendments:

SB order No. 16/2023

If a depositor dies and there is no nomination in force at the time of his death, and the probate of his will or letters of administration of estate or a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), or legal heir certificate issued by the revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar having jurisdiction, is not produced within six months from the date of death of the depositor to the Authorised Officer of the Accounts Office where the account stands, then,-

i) if the eligible amount in the account does not exceed Rupees five lakh, the Authorised Officer of the Accounts Office or the authority specified by the Government Savings Bank to which the Accounts Office belongs, for reasons to be recorded in writing, may pay the same to any person appearing to him as the rightful claimant and to his satisfaction to be entitled to receive the amount or to administer the estate of the deceased, on an application in Form-11 accompanied by the following documents; namely:-

(a) Death certificate of the account holder;

(b) Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;

(c) Affidavit in Form-13 ;

(d) Letter of disclaimer in Form-l4;

(e) Bond of Indemnity in Form-l5; and

(f) Identity proof of the legal heir;

Provided further that, in case of any dispute raised before the Accounts Office  before the payment of claim, the amount shall be paid by the Accounts Office to the claimant on submission of a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the Court only along with the following documents; namely:-

 (a) Claim form;

(b) Pass book or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;

(c) Death certificate of the account holder; and

(d) Identity proof of the legal heir,

(ii) if the eligible amount in a deceased account is above Rupees five lakh, the amount shall be paid by the Accounts office to the claimant on submission of the probate of his will or letters of administration of estate or a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act" 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the Court, or legal heir certificate issued by the revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar having jurisdiction along with the following documents namely:-

 (a) Claim form;

(b) Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;

(c) Death certificate of the accountholder; and

Provided further that, in case of any dispute raised before the Accounts Office and before the payment of claim, the amount shall be paid by the Accounts Office to the claimant on submission of a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) issued by the court only along with the following documents namely:-

 (a) Claim form;

(b) Passbook or deposit receipt or statement of account in original;

(c) Death certificate of the accountholder; and

(d) Identity proof of the legal heir

As per SB Order No.1/2023, issue of separate sanction memo for settlement of claims, verification through PRI(P)/IP should be strictly avoided and cases should be settled adhering to the prescribed timelines.  The following are the guidelines issued:

(a) At the time of receipt of deceased claim case/ KYC documents, the KYC document(s) of claimant shall be verified with the original KYC documents.

(b) If signature of witnesses is available on copy of the KYC documents, physical presence of witnesses is not required.

(c) The claimant(s) should be sensitized to provide his/her Bank Account/PO Savings Account detail at the time of submission of decease claim case for transfer of payment and obtain Account Detail/signature on acquittance portion, so that nominee(s)/claimant(s) need not visit post office again to get the payment through cheque.

(d) No separate sanction memo is to be issued by Sub Post Office/Head Post Office for settlement of deceased claim cases. SPM/PM shall sanction the claim on the second part of Form-11 which is prescribed as ‘For Office Use Only’.

(e) Once a deceased claim case is received with complete documents, further verification through PRI (P)/SDI (P) is not required.

(g) All post offices shall ensure settlement of deceased claim cases as per prescribed timeline/norms i.e. one working day where nomination exists and seven working days in other cases.

Click here for SB Order No.1/2023

The limits prescribed for sanctioning death claims have been revised as follows :