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Rattan Dhillon found 30 Reliance Industries shares from 1988. He sought advice on X, and IEPFA suggested their search tool to verify ownership. The shares might be worth Rs 11.88 lakhs. Dhillon chose not to digitize them due to the lengthy process.
Physical certificate of 30 RIL shares from 1988. (X/@ShivrattanDhil1)
A man’s fortune changed unexpectedly when he discovered a physical certificate for 30 shares of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) originally purchased in 1988. The Chandigarh man, Rattan Dhillon, shared images of the physical share certificates on his X handle, seeking guidance from netizens as he lacked knowledge about the stock market.
“We found these at home, but I have no idea about the stock market. Can someone with expertise guide us on whether we still own these shares?” Dhillon wrote in the X post, accompanied by images of the certificates.
In response to his post, a government organisation called IEPFA (Investor Education and Protection Fund) suggested using the new Search Facility on the IEPFA (Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority) website to determine the ownership status of the shares.
They added that if the shares had remained unclaimed for a specific duration, they might have been transferred to the IEPFA. Verification could be done by accessing the search facility directly through the provided link: https://iepfa.gov.in/login.
How Much Is It Worth Today?
An X user provided a rough estimate of the current worth of the 30 shares. He stated that, considering 3 stock splits and 2 bonuses issued by RIL, the 30 shares would have become 960 shares today.
He further added that these shares should be valued at approximately Rs 11.88 lakhs.
Final Update: It seems Dhirubhai Ambani’s signatures will go to waste, as I’ve decided not to proceed with digitizing the shares.The process is just too lengthy—obtaining the legal heir certificate alone takes 6-8 months, and the IEPFA process reportedly takes 2-3 years.
I… https://t.co/sDt1uPKiqL
— Rattan Dhillon (@ShivrattanDhil1) March 12, 2025
Man Decides Not To Digitise Shares
In a subsequent update, Dhillon announced his decision not to digitise the shares.
He explained that the process was excessively time-consuming, with obtaining the legal heir certificate alone taking 6-8 months and the IEPFA process reportedly requiring 2-3 years.
He concluded by stating that he saw little value in investing such a significant amount of time and suggested that India needs to streamline the process.
