No Restriction On Queer Partners To Have Joint Bank Accounts, Says Centre

New Delhi: The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification stating that there was no restriction for the members of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also nominate their queer partner as a nominee. This will allow the nominee to receive the deposited money in case of death of the primary account holder.

The notification was issued by the Department of Finance Services on August 28. It clarified that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also issued a similar clarification on August 21.

The clarification comes after the Supreme Court had observed last year that non-heterosexual couples cannot claim the right to marry as a fundamental right or as a statutory right under the Special Marriage Act, 1956, while hearing the case of Supriya Chakraborty and another Vs. Union of India (Writ Petition Civil No. 1011/2022). The court stated that it was for the Parliament to decide on legal recognition to same-sex marriage.

In response to the Centre’s request, a five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had stated that the Union government should form a high-powered committee to address the socio-economic and other rights of the queer community. The CJI had specifically addressed the issue of joint bank accounts for the queer community.

He had stated that the committee shall consider: “Enabling partners in a queer relationship (i) to be treated as a part of the same family for the purposes of a ration card; and (ii) to have the facility of a joint bank account with the option to name the partner as a nominee, in case of death.”

In 2015, the RBI had also directed banks to include a separate column for the ‘third gender’ in all their forms and applications.