Banking Regulation Act, 1949 · Section guide
Section 45ZE: Release of contents of safety lockers
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 18 September 2026
Section 45ZE — Release of contents of safety lockers. Governs access to and removal of locker contents after death. From 1 November 2025 one. Or more hirers may nominate up to four persons successively; the bank must follow statutory/rule-based identification and inventory safeguards.
Official statute linkedProvision-specific anatomyPractical case + evidence file2025 amendment mapped
Effective-date control — 1 November 2025. Up to four successive locker nominees. For an event that straddles this date, the working paper should show the pre/post amendment position rather than treating the current wording as historically universal.
Statutory structure and provision map
This map is a provision-specific explanation, not a substitute for the exact statutory text.
Core statutory rule
Governs access to and removal of locker contents after death. From 1 November 2025 one or more hirers may nominate up to four persons successively.
Condition / limitation
the bank must follow statutory/rule-based identification and inventory safeguards.
Source and effective-date control
Apply the wording of Section 45ZE that was in force on the event date; use the official Act and any applicable commencement/amending instrument linked on this page.
Professional application
Map individual/joint locker arrangements, survivor/death conditions, inventory/release safeguards and successive nominations.
Evidence / working-paper checklist
- Section 45ZE evidence: account/locker/safe-custody master record.
- Section 45ZE evidence: nomination/cancellation/variation form and acknowledgement.
- Section 45ZE evidence: identity/death/inventory/payment evidence for a claim.
- Section 45ZE evidence: record-retention or claim-processing evidence under the current Rules.
Retain the event date and source version with the file so the conclusion remains reproducible after later amendments.
Common mistakes to avoid
- For Section 45ZE, avoid treating a nominee as universal beneficial owner for all legal purposes.
- For Section 45ZE, avoid using obsolete nomination forms after a rule change.
- For Section 45ZE, avoid processing a death claim without preserving identity, death and inventory/payment evidence.
Linked Rules, RBI directions, notifications and forms
Linked instruments keep their own legal basis; they are not attributed to Section 45ZE unless the official instrument says so.
Related sections inside the Act
Use these links to read Section 45ZE in its statutory sequence, especially where the provision imports definitions, approvals, appeals, penalties or winding-up consequences from neighbouring sections.
Current-law source control
Source control: read Section 45ZE in the DFS/India Code text together with the mapped 2025 amending Act and commencement date.
Dated matters: verify any later Gazette, RBI direction or binding judgment affecting Section 45ZE on the event date.
Primary official sources
Related on Finin2min
Disclaimer
This Finin2min page is an educational and professional reference. Banking regulation is fact-, entity- and date-sensitive. Verify the current Act, Gazette amendments and commencement notifications, applicable RBI Rules/directions and the transaction record before acting or filing.