RICHA KAPUR Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner contending that she is a niece of the deceased late Shri Surinder Mohan Kochhar who was holding locker no. 1222 and saving bank account no. 10250 (1467000100102509) in the punjab National Bank, Savitri Cinema Branch, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi-110048. The petitioner has claimed that she was declared nominee of the deceased so far as the bank account and locker are concerned. It is her grievance that in disregard of Sections 45 ZA, 45 ZC and 45 ZE of the Banking regulation Act, 1949 and the law declared by the Calcutta High Court in the judgment reported at AIR 1991 Calcutta 128 Rama Chakravarty vs. Punjab National bank and Ors. , the respondents have refused to permit the petitioner to operate the bank locker. The submission is that such is contrary to law and impermissible.

(2.) THE petitioner has contended that she has completed all formalities in respect of operation of the locker and the bank account yet she has been denied the operation on the plea that Smt. Shashi Kanta Puri, a sister of the deceased has made objections in the bank.

(3.) I find that the said Smt. Puri has filed CM No. 3375/2008 for impleadment in the present matter. In this application it is pointed out by smt. Shashikanta Puri that she is a sister of late Shri Surinder Mohan Kochhar and is thus consequently a class II heir of the deceased as per the schedule to the Hindu Succession Act. The applicant has further stated that so far as the other heirs of the deceased are concerned, the deceased had married one Ms. Shakuntla Grover (also known as Ms. Shakun) around the year 1959. Sometime in the year 1975 there was a divorce between Ms. Shakuntla Grover and the deceased and they were living separately ever since. As such Ms. Shakuntla Grover has not legal right or entitlement to the estate of the deceased.