Rule 18 - Payment in the event of death of the holder during maturity period - Social Security Certificates Rules, 1982

Payment in the event of death of the holder during maturity period. 18. (1) Subject to rule 21 and sub-rules (2), (3) and (4) on the death of the holder of a certificate- (a) due to any cause, at any time after the expiry of two years from the date of issue of the certificate and before the expiry of its maturity period, or (b) due to one or more non-natural causes at any time before the expiry of two years from the date of issue of the certificate, the nominee, or, if there is no surviving nominee, the legal heir of the holder, as the case may be, shall be entitled to receive, in respect of each such certificate held by the deceased holder, payment of a sum of Rs. 1,500 or Rs. 3,000 according to the denomination of the certificate of Rs. 500 or Rs. 1,000 as the case may be. Explanation : For the purpose of clause (b), "non-natural causes" shall mean accidents due to external, violent and visible means and shall include rail and road accidents, electrocution, snake-bite, drowning, fire and attack by wild animal but shall not include self-injury and suicide. (2) If a doubt arises as to whether the death of the holder was or was not due to a non-natural cause other than self-injury or suicide, the certificate in Form 4 by the district collector or the district magistrate in whose jurisdiction the place of death falls shall be deemed final. (3) Payment under sub-rule (1) shall be restricted to the certificates held by a deceased holder up to a maximum limit of aggregate face value of Rs. 5,000 and in respect of any certificate held in excess of such limit by the deceased holder and not matured as on the date of his death, the face value of such certificate shall be payable only on the expiry of its maturity period without any interest to the nominee or legal heir of the holder, as the case may be: Provided that such face value shall be payable immediately without any interest if the certificate is presented for encashment- (i) on forfeiture by a pledgee of the certificate when the pledge is in conformity with these rules, or (ii) when ordered by a court of law. (4) In case it is found that there has at any stage been a fraudulent mis-statement or suppression of information relating to the date of birth of the holder or any other material fact relevant to the issue of the certificate or payment thereon, the face value of such certificate shall be payable only on the expiry of its maturity period without any interest to the nominee or legal heir of the holder, as the case may be: Provided that such face value shall be payable immediately without any interest if the certificate is presented for encashment- (i) on forfeiture by a pledgee of the certificate when the pledge is in conformity with these rules, or (ii) when ordered by a court of law. Explanation : For the purpose of this sub-rule, if a question arises as to whether there has been a fraudulent mis-statement or suppression of information relating to the date of birth of the holder or any other material fact relevant to the issue of the certificate or payment thereon, the decision of the Central Government in this regard shall be final. (5) In cases not covered by clause (b) of sub-rule (1), on the death of the holder of a certificate at any time before the expiry of two years from the date of the certificate, the nominee or, if there is no surviving nominee, the legal heir of the holder, may at his option- (i) encash the certificate on the expiry of its maturity period, in which case he shall be entitled to receive a sum of Rs. 1,500 or Rs. 3,000 according to the denomination of the certificate of Rs. 500 or Rs. 1,000, as the case may be; or (ii) encash the certificate at any time before the expiry of its maturity period in which case he shall be entitled to receive a sum equivalent to the face value of the certificate together with interest as specified in sub-rule (1) of rule 17: provided that no such interest shall be payable if the certificate is encashed before the expiry of one year from the date of the certificate.