A postmaster of the Mani Majra post office has been penalised by the consumer court after a customer found his order of medicine tampered with. The court has asked the official to pay a little over Rs 49,000, including the value of the goods, compensation for harassment and the litigation fee, to the complainant. In his complaint, Ripan Kumar, a resident of Sector 37, alleged that he had sent some important medicines worth Rs 29,042 to Critical Drugs Agency, Imphal, through Speed Post on June 4 last year. The parcel reached Imphal on June 12. However, it was tampered with and the medicines were missing. The parcel was sent back to the city post office and was returned to the complainant. He alleged that the act amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. In its defence, the opposite party averred that the contents and the value of the postal article were not disclosed by the complainant. It contended that the complainant had sent the alleged contents in the postal article in violation of the Speed Post rules. “After going through the facts of the case, we are of the opinion that even if the contents of the parcel were not disclosed by the complainant, it was open for the opposite party to ask the complainant to disclose these. However, in the present case, no such effort was made by the party. It is the duty of the postal authorities to deliver the consignment in its original form without causing any damage to it. The consignment was in the custody of the Department of Posts and the requisite fee was paid by the complainant for its safe delivery. However, the post office failed to perform its duty properly and the parcel was returned to the complainant after being tampered with,” observed the court in its order. The court ordered the postmaster to pay Rs 29,042 to the complainant towards the value of the goods sent through Speed Post, Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment caused to the complainant and Rs 10,000 as the cost of litigation.
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