Indemnity Bond Generator

About the Indemnity Bond Generator

Pick the purpose — a duplicate share certificate, a duplicate fixed deposit receipt, a lost document, a transfer of property records or society membership to legal heirs, a bank claim by legal heirs, or your own — and enter the person or people giving the indemnity, the company, bank, society or office that will rely on it, and, if one is needed, a surety. The generator writes the bond: who gives it and to whom, the facts (the shares or deposit, the loss and police report, or the death and the heirs), the request, the indemnity itself, the promise to return the original if found, declarations, an optional cap on liability, the surety’s guarantee, and signature blocks with two witnesses.

The indemnity follows ss.124–125 of the Contract Act — the holder can recover damages, costs and sums paid under a prudent compromise — and the surety clause follows ss.126 and 128. The checks remind you that stamp duty is set by your State’s stamp law (indemnity bonds are charged like security bonds, Article 34 of the Indian Stamp Act schedule) and that the company or bank may insist on its own format.

Common uses

• Getting duplicate share certificates from a company or its registrar after the originals are lost.
• Asking a bank for a duplicate fixed deposit receipt, or to pay a deposit without the original.
• Legal heirs claiming a deceased person’s bank balance, or transferring a flat’s society membership.
• Any office that will act without an original document if you indemnify it.

What an indemnity bond does

A contract of indemnity is a promise to save the other party from loss caused by the conduct of the promisor or of anyone else (Indian Contract Act 1872, s.124). A company that issues duplicate share certificates, or a bank that pays a deposit to heirs without a succession certificate, takes a risk that someone else turns up with the original or a better claim; the bond moves that risk to the person who asked. If the indemnity holder is sued, it may recover the damages and costs it is compelled to pay, and sums paid under a compromise that was prudent or authorised (s.125). The bond spells this out.

The surety

A company or bank may ask for a surety — someone of means who guarantees that the indemnifier will honour the bond. That is a contract of guarantee (s.126), and the surety’s liability is co-extensive with that of the principal debtor unless the contract says otherwise (s.128). The surety must be a different person from the indemnifier.

Legal heirs: what the bond cannot do

Banks, societies and offices may transfer or pay to heirs on an indemnity when their rules allow, instead of insisting on a succession certificate, probate or letters of administration. The bond does not decide who the heirs are: list all of them, have heirs who are not claiming give a written no-objection, and if there is a dispute go to court instead. The heirs also declare that they know of no will dealing with the property.

Stamp duty, notary and format

Under the central Indian Stamp Act 1899, an indemnity bond is charged with the same duty as a security bond for the same amount (Schedule I, Article 34, referring to Article 57); each State sets its own rate in its stamp law, so check yours and use e-stamp or stamp paper of the right value. An unstamped bond cannot be admitted in evidence until the duty and a penalty are paid (s.35). Companies, registrars, banks and societies may have their own wording and may require notarisation, an affidavit or a police report — ask first and use their format if they insist.

Sources

• Indian Contract Act 1872 — ss.124, 125, 126, 128
• Indian Stamp Act 1899 — s.35; Schedule I, Articles 34 and 57

Limitations

• A generic template, not legal advice. Large amounts, disputes among heirs, or transfers of land records may need a succession certificate, probate or a lawyer instead.
• Companies, registrars and banks may require their own format, stamp value, notarisation, affidavit or police report; this bond does not replace their requirements.
• Stamp duty is not calculated; State rates change by notification.
• The first DOCX or PDF download needs a connection to load the document engine; Copy and Print work offline.

Privacy

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