Bank Locker Rules: Know these rules for depositing jewelry and money worth lakhs, otherwise you will have to repent

Bank Locker Charges: Nowadays bank locker is a common thing. This news has come from Noida. Hrithik Singhal, a Noida resident, has an account with the Sector 121 branch of HDFC Bank. Where he has also taken the locker. His wife’s jewelry worth about Rs 30 lakh was kept in this locker. The locker was last operated in February 2020 before the Corona lockdown. Then he went to Australia. After coming back from there, when he went to the branch and opened the locker, he was shocked. Jewelery was missing from the locker. The branch manager said that he was not aware of the incident and lodged an FIR with the police.

What happened to Hrithik Singhal can happen to you too. The question here is, what is the liability of the bank when the jewelery goes missing from the bank locker? If jewelry goes missing from a bank locker, is the loss yours or the bank’s? We tell you the answers to these questions.

What happened to Hrithik Singhal
Hrithik Singhal, a Noida resident, has an account with the Sector 121 branch of HDFC Bank. He has also hired a locker. His wife’s jewelry worth about Rs 30 lakh was kept in this locker.

Increasing use of lockers
Earlier the common man did not have a locker in the bank. Only the rich and the middle class used to take its service. But now even the common man has started using it. However, in view of the increasing incidents of thefts, people rent bank lockers and keep their jewelery and valuables in it. But if your valuables are stolen even from the bank locker, then as per the rules, the bank is not responsible for it. Because he is not fully responsible for the goods kept in the bank locker. Under certain circumstances, the bank compensates for the loss of your belongings. Let’s know what is the rule of the bank regarding the goods kept in the locker?

locker is a rented house
When you borrow a locker from a bank, there is no bank-customer relationship between you and the bank. The relationship is similar to that of a landlord and a tenant. As a landlord, he rents his house, but he has no responsibility for the tenant’s belongings. Similarly, the bank gives its locker on rent, but the bank is not responsible for the contents kept in it.

Bank’s agreement with the locker hirer
If you borrow a locker from a bank, there is an agreement between the bank and the borrower. It clearly states that the Bank shall not be responsible for the contents of your Locker due to rain, fire, earthquake, flood, lightning, civil disturbance, war, riots etc. or any other reason beyond the control of the Bank. It is also stated in this agreement that the bank will take utmost care of you and will make better arrangements for the safety of your belongings, but the bank will not be responsible for the belongings kept in the locker.

What does the rule of the Reserve Bank say?
There are news coming every day regarding the security of the goods kept in the bank locker. The matter has also reached the Reserve Bank. After this, RBI has made some rules regarding this. These rules have come into force from January 2022. According to this rule, banks cannot say that they are not responsible for the contents of the locker. In case of theft, fraud, fire or building collapse, the bank’s liability will be up to 100 times the annual rent of the locker. In addition, the Bank has to take all necessary measures for the security of the lockers. The Bank will notify the customer through e-mail and SMS whenever the customer accesses his locker. Now there is a need to keep an eye on the people coming and going in the locker room through CCTV. Also, the CCTV footage will have to be kept for 180 days. If in any event it is proved that the loss of the contents of the locker is due to the connivance of the bank staff or negligence of the security system, the bank will be liable for the same.