SRINAGAR: The J&K and Ladakh High Court ruled on Wednesday that once a bank pays the balance of a joint account with ‘either or survivor’ mandate to the surviving account holder, the bank is fully discharged of its liability.
Justice Sanjay Dhar of the High Court said in his order, “A bank is fully discharged of liability when it pays the balance of a joint account with an 'either or survivor' mandate to the surviving account holder. Any subsequent dispute between the survivor and the deceased's legal heirs is a matter for them to resolve civilly, and the bank cannot be held criminally liable for honouring the 'either or survivor' clause.”
The High Court further said that other court rulings, such as those from the Madras High Court, also support that the right to operate the account passes to the survivor upon the death of one account holder.