There are no restrictions for persons from the LGBTQ community to open joint bank accounts and appoint an individual in a queer relationship as a nominee, the Union finance ministry clarified on Wednesday.
The advisory, posted by the Department of Financial Services on social media on Thursday, came in view of the Supreme Court’s October judgement on a series of pleas seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages.
While refusing to legalise same-sex marriages, the Supreme Court had directed the Union and state governments to ensure that members of the queer community are not discriminated against because of their identity.
“This is to clarify that there are no restrictions for persons of the queer community to open a joint bank account and also to nominate a person in the queer relationship as a nominee to receive the balance in the account, in the event of death of the account holder,” the advisory said.
A clarification in this regard has been sent by the Reserve Bank of India to banks on August 21, the department added.
In April, in line with the court verdict, the Centre set up a six-member committee led by the cabinet secretary to address problems faced by the queer community.
The committee was assigned to review processes to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ persons in accessing services and to develop measures to protect the queer community from coercion, violence and harassment.
In 2015, the Reserve Bank of India instructed banks to add a separate “third gender” option in their forms and applications, aiming to facilitate the process for transgender persons to open bank accounts and access related services, PTI reported.
Also read: ‘Want to live and die together’: Meet the people battling for same-sex marriage rights in India
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