📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Gauravyawalkar.2012
Business
AP High Court Orders SBI to Release 23-Year-Old NRI Inheritance
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 10 Sep 2026, 01:37 PM
👁 15
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed State Bank of India to return an inheritance belonging to an NRI brother, which the bank had withheld for 23 years.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court issued a ruling today directing the State Bank of India (SBI) to release an inheritance that had been held by the bank for 23 years.
The inheritance belongs to an NRI brother of a woman who had approached the court for its return. SBI had retained the funds under the claim that the account was linked to a deceased relative, but the court found no legal basis for the prolonged withholding.
The court’s decision underscores the importance of banks complying with statutory timelines for the release of inherited assets. It also signals a precedent for similar cases where banks have allegedly delayed the transfer of funds for extended periods.
SBI is expected to comply with the order within the time frame stipulated by the court, ensuring the rightful heirs receive the assets without further delay.
The inheritance belongs to an NRI brother of a woman who had approached the court for its return. SBI had retained the funds under the claim that the account was linked to a deceased relative, but the court found no legal basis for the prolonged withholding.
The court’s decision underscores the importance of banks complying with statutory timelines for the release of inherited assets. It also signals a precedent for similar cases where banks have allegedly delayed the transfer of funds for extended periods.
SBI is expected to comply with the order within the time frame stipulated by the court, ensuring the rightful heirs receive the assets without further delay.