Queer Partners Can Open Joint Bank Accounts & Nominate Their Partners : Ministry Of Finance

Recently, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification clarifying that there is no restriction on the members of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also nominate their queer partner as a nominee, to receive money in case of the death of the account holder.

The notification issued by the Department of Finance Services on August 28 stated that the Reserve Bank of India has also issued a similar clarification on August 21.

The clarification comes pursuant to the October 17, 2023 judgment of the Supreme Court in Supriyo@Supriya Chakraborty & Anr v. Union of India, wherein the Court held that there is no fundamental and unqualified right to marry. Therefore, non-heterosexual couples cannot claim the right to marry as a fundamental right or as a statutory right under the Special Marriage Act, 1956.

A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha, pursuant to the Union Government's request, stated that the Union Government should form a High Powered Committee to address the socio-economic and other rights and needs of the queer community. 

While CJI Chandrachud, Justices Kaul, Narasimha, and Bhat wrote separate judgments, Justice Kohli concurred with Justice Bhat's judgment. Only CJI Chandrachud specifically penned down the directions to deal with discrimination faced by queer community and also the issues that must be addressed by the Committee. 

While recognising that queer persons as a fundamental right to form unions and the failure of the State to recognise the "bouquet of entitlements which flow from a union would result in a disparate impact on queer couples", CJI specifically addressed the issue of joint bank accounts for the queer community. 

He 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."

The notification can be referred to below: