POST MASTER GENERAL vs N.K.SANTHAMMA

THE appeal arises out of the order of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Madras dated 26.2.92 in O.P. No. 477/91. THE opposite parties are the appellants.

THE complainant sent a registered letter to her brother at a Hyderabad on 9.7.91 under registration No. 1451 from the Post Office, High Court Buildings. She did not receive the postal acknowledgement or any reply from her brother. On 31.7.91 she addressed a letter to the third opposite party enquiring about the fate of the letter. THEre was no sufficient response. Hence this complaint. The opposite party contended that action had been initiated to trace the whereabouts of the letter sent by registered post. As enquiry had to be conducted stage by stage, it was taken time and the enquiry was not over.

The District Forum found that there was negligence and deficiency of service and ordered the opposite party to pay compensation in the sum of Rs. 1,000/-. Aggrieved thereby the opposite parties have preferred this appeal.

AFTER the disposal of the complaint by the District Forum, the Department has been able to find out that this registered letter which has been on 9.7.91 has been delivered to the addressee, i.e. the complainant''s brother on 13.7.91. A statement from the addressee Mr. G.L. Narasaiah is produced along with the Memo of Appeal, In view of this information the learned Counsel for the appellants prayed that the order of the District Forum may be set aside. It is true that the Department has now been able to find out that the letter has been duly served on the addressee on 13.7.91 i.e., within 4 days of its registration at Madras. The addressee''s letter is also produced, and the addressee has stated therein that he has received the letter on 13.7.91. Thus there has been no default in the matter of delivering the registered letter. But there has been gross deficiency of service in that the complainant has written on 31.7.91 making enquiries about the fate of her letter and it is only in March ''92, the Department has been able to find out the fate. The explanation that investigation has been made stage by stage and hence the delay cannot be accepted. The letter has been registered at Madras on 9.7.91 and the registration number is also given. The Department could immediately have contacted the Delivery Office and found out whether it has been delivered or not. There was hardly any necessity for this inordinate delay of more than 7 months to trace out this letter. This deficiency gives right to claim for compensation. A sum of Rs. 500/- as compensation will in our view is sufficient to meet the ends of justice.

IN the result the appeal is allowed in part, the order of the District Forum is modified and the appellants/opposite parties are directed to pay Rs. 500/- as compensation instead of Rs. 1000/- as ordered by the Forum below. There will be no order as to costs throughout. Before parting with this case, we would like to point out that the entire trouble in this case is due to the non-delivery of the Acknowledgement Due Card to the sender. If statistics are taken, we are afraid nearly 50% of the Postal Acknowledgement Due Cards are not delivered back to the senders and this is due to the causal and cavalier manner in which these Acknowledgement Due Cards are handled by Postman, unmindful of the fact that the senders affix an additional stamp of Re. 1/- for these cards. It is our bitter experience in the Office of this Commission that Acknowledgement Due Cards are not received back for notices sent by Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due card thereby necessitating the issue of fresh notices by RPAD. In some of the Acknowledgement Due Cards mercifully delivered back, there is no postal seal and the some times the signature of the addressee is also not found. We hope and believe that there will be more awakening among the members of the Staff. This vital public utility service undertaken by the Government. A copy of this judgment will be forwarded to the Director General of Posts and Telegraphs, New Delhi for necessary action. Order modified.