Section 45ZD of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949: Notice of Claims Regarding Articles Not Receivable
Section 45ZD protects a banking company from being required to act on a claim made by a person other than the person or persons in whose name an article is held in safe custody. The section contains an important exception where an order or other authority from a competent court is produced before the bank.
Updated: 14 September 2026
Text and meaning of Section 45ZD
Section 45ZD provides that a banking company is not required to receive or act upon notice of a claim made by any person other than the person or persons in whose name an article is held by the bank in safe custody.
The proviso requires the banking company to take due note where a decree, order, certificate, or other authority from a court of competent jurisdiction relating to the article is produced before it.
In practical terms, a person cannot ordinarily bind a bank merely by sending a letter, notice, objection, or private claim asserting an interest in articles that the bank holds in safe custody for somebody else. The statutory exception is a competent court's decree, order, certificate, or other authority concerning the article.
What is an article held in safe custody?
For the purpose of Sections 45ZC and 45ZD, the expression concerns articles deposited with or left with a banking company for safe custody. This is distinct from money kept in a deposit account and also distinct from the contents of a safe deposit locker, for which the Act contains separate provisions.
Key legal effect of Section 45ZD
- Third-party notice is ordinarily ineffective against the bank: a claim by an outsider does not by itself require the banking company to recognize or act upon that claim.
- The relevant relationship is the bank's safe-custody record: the section refers to the person or persons in whose name the article is held.
- A competent court's authority is different: the bank must take due note of a decree, order, certificate, or other authority of a court of competent jurisdiction relating to the article.
- The section operates alongside the nomination provisions: Section 45ZC deals with nomination and return of safe-custody articles, while Section 45ZD deals with notices of competing claims.
Relationship with Section 45ZC
Section 45ZC provides for nomination for the return of articles kept in safe custody with a banking company. Section 45ZD complements that framework by protecting the bank against mere notices of claims by other persons, subject to the court-order exception.
Difference between safe custody articles, deposits, and lockers
The Banking Regulation Act contains separate provisions for different banking relationships. Section 45ZB concerns notices of claims relating to deposits. Section 45ZD concerns articles held in safe custody. Section 45ZF concerns notices of claims relating to safety lockers.
Important: Section 45ZD regulates whether a banking company must receive or act on a third-party notice. It does not, by itself, determine every underlying ownership or succession dispute between private claimants. Such rights may require adjudication by a competent court.
Official statutory source
The current text of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 is available through the Government of India's India Code portal. RBI customer-service guidance also discusses nomination facilities and safe-custody articles under Sections 45ZC and 45ZD.
Related provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Readers may also refer to Section 45Z, Section 45ZA, Section 45ZB, Section 45ZC, Section 45ZE, and Section 45ZF.