O.N.BHAN vs Senior Superintendent of Post Offices

THE short point involved in this case is as to whether complainant is justified in seeking compensation for late delivery of Speed Post by the opposite party.

THE case of the complainant is that he was informed by his daughter from Delhi that a draft for Rs. 2,50,000/- has been sent to him and this information was delivered to him on 23.7.1994 but the said draft could not be delivered till the end of July and that it was only after he went for enquiry that the draft came to be delivered to him on 4th August, 1994. According to him the draft was sent to him for use in some commercial important business deal and that he has suffered a loss of Rs. 40,000/- due to late delivery of the draft. He claims that it has also put him to a great deal of mental worry. He, therefore, claims compensation to the tune of Rs. 40,000/- and another sum of Rs. 50,000/- as compensation for agony. The opposite party has taken the stand that the address given on the envelope did not tally with the name plate mentioned on the compound wall of the residence of the complainant and that he can not claim damages for his own negligence. It is also stated that due to this wrong address the Postal Authorities made enquiries and that the Speed Post was actually delivered to him on 4.8.1994 on his address namely. House No. 42, Channi Kamala which does not fall within the scope of Speed Post and that after coming to know about his proper address the Speed Post was redirected through the concerned Post Office which naturally took time. According to the opposite party the address superscribed on the envelope was 40-East Extention, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu where the complainant actually does not reside and this caused the confusion.

We have seen the original Speed Post cover made available to us by the complainant himself which clearly goes to show that the stand taken by the opposite party is very correct.

STRANGELY the complainant is silent in respect of the fact as to where the Speed Post was actually delivered to him. This aspect of the case he has deliberately allowed to remain vague for the obvious reason that we should be taken unawares. It is only due to the version filed by the opposite party that this fact has surfaced. We are not therefore prepared to believe the statement of the complainant that this was due to the negligence of the opposite party or that there was any deficiency in service. If the address given on the envelope was wrong the Post Office is obliged to redirect the letter to the dispatcher thereof but in the present case the Post Office has gone out of its way to find out the address of the complainant and. to re-direct the letter through the concerned Post Office for delivery to him. The fault squarely lyes with the concerned who wrote the letter with wrong address. Assuming though not granting that this amounts to negligence and deficiency still the complainant is not entitled to any compensation or damage for the reason that there is no material to indicate that this late delivery of the letter has resulted in any loss or injury to him. In the first place the complainant has made a vague statement that this money was to be used for some commercial purpose but in his statement he explains it by stating that the money was to be utilised for purchase of property and not for commercial purposes. He has produced before us a letter from Punjab National Bank, which clearly shows that even on 2nd September 1994 the money received through this draft was still lying unutilised in the bank. This clearly shows that the money was not to be utilised either for any commercial purpose or for purchase of any property. In any case since we are of the view that there has been no negligence or deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party there is no merit in this complaint. Dismissed.

A copy of this order duly certified be given to the parties free of cost to be collected by them on their own within a period of one week. Complaint dismissed. ________________