People from the LGBTQIA+ community and those in queer relationships cannot be prevented from opening joint bank accounts, the Union government said in an advisory issued this week, making it clear that they can also nominate each other as beneficiaries.
This comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court of India asked the Union government to consider providing equal entitlements to partners in a queer relationship, in a judgement that refused to recognise same-sex marriage. Among other suggestions, the Supreme Court’s October 2023 judgement had directed the government to consider enabling partners in a queer relationship to be able to open joint bank accounts and nominate each other in case of death.
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‘Clarification’
The August 28 advisory was issued by the Department of Financial Services as a “clarification” in connection with judgement. “There are no restrictions for persons of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also to nominate a person in queer relationship as a nominee to receive the balance in the account, in the event of death of the account holder,” it said, adding that the Reserve Bank of India had also issued a clarification on this matter to all Scheduled Commercial Banks on August 21.
Some private banks had already been enabling people in queer relationships to open joint bank accounts, even before the SC judgement. In a statement, Axis Bank welcomed the Finance Ministry advisory, saying it “seamlessly aligned” with its inclusive banking initiative, which has let LGBTQIA+ persons in same-sex relationships nominate each other as beneficiaries and open joint bank accounts since September 2021.
Panel to define entitlements
In April this year, the government set up a six-member committee to define and elucidate “the scope of the entitlements of queer couples who are in unions”, in accordance with its submission to the Supreme Court. It is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and also includes the Secretaries to the Ministries of Home Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice, Women and Child Development, and Health and Family Development. The committee’s mandate also allowed it to “co-opt experts and other officers if deemed necessary”.
The panel’s first meeting was held on May 21, the Social Justice Ministry told Parliament. Subsequently, a sub-committee meeting was held on May 31, and the first round of stakeholder consultations was held on July 25.
