Shri Asoke Kumar Das,President

Record is placed for final order.

Complainant’s case in brief is that he send some gift articles i.e. One Silk Sari, one woolen ladies swale, one Silk Punjabi, owing 960 gms by Speed Post from Jalpaiguri Head Post Office on 10/01/’14 vide Postal receipt no.EW8740120751N to deliver the said gift items to Sri. Mohit Chandra Sarkar of Jamtala Kalibari, Madanmohan Para, Post:-Dinhata, Coochbehar, PIN:-73535. But those gift items were not delivered to the address till 19/01/’14. The complainant lodged a complaint with the Post Master Jalpaiguri Head Post Office on 20/01/’14over the said matter. He also lodged another complainants with the Superintendent  of Post Offices of Jalpaiguri Division and to the Post Master General North Bengal and Sikkim Region on 20/01/’14. But to no effect. So, the complainant lodged a complaint with the Asstt. Director,CA&FBP,Jalpaiguri. The Asstt. Director issued a letter to the Superintendent of Post Office, Jalpaiguri asking him to enquire the matter with in specific time on 7/4/’14 the Superintendent  of Post Office, Jalpaiguri agreed about missing of said gift articles and requested the complainant to submit his claim of compensation with original Postal receipt in specific form. As per advise of Asstt. Director of CA&FBP,Jalpaiguri the complainant submitted his claim of compensation in the proper form with the postal authority on 30/04/’14 claiming Rs.4,773/-. The complainant thereafter visited the office of Postal Deptt. several times, but no fruit-full result came out.Hence this case.

The complainant has claimed of Rs.19773/- in total for cost of missing gift articles, compensation,harassment and the cost of litigation.

The OP the Sr.Superintendent  of Post Office of Jalpaiguri Division & the Sr. Post Master of Head Post Office, Jalpaiguri have contested this case by filing a W/V denying and disputing the claims and the contention of the complainant with prayer for rejection of this case.

Their specific stands is that when any person comes to post office with intention to send some articles through Speed Post they generally advise that person to send the same by parcel with is covered by insurance and that the Postal employee advised the complainant to send his gift articles through parcel but the complainantdidn’t care the same and at his own risk booked Speed Post bearing no.EW8740120751N on 10/1’14 at Jalpaiguri Head Post Office for delivery of the same to the addressee at Dinhata, Coochbehar.

POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION:-

1) Is the case maintainable both law & fact?

2) Is the complainant a consumer?

3) Is / was there is any deficiency in service on the part of the OPs as alledge?

4) Is the complainant entitled to the reliefs as prayer for?    

DECISION WITH REASONS

All points are taken up together for consideration and decision.

Seen and perusal the pleading of the parties which are supported by Affidavits and the documents annexed and filed by the parties.

Now after due considerate of the materials of the record and after due consideration of the argument advance by the complainant in person and the Ld. Lawyer of the OP, we find that admittedly the complainant booked gift articles by Speed Post bearing no.EW8740120751N on 10/1/’14 at Jalpaiguri Head Post Office for delivery of the same to one Sri.Mohit Chandra Sarkar, Jamtala Kalibari, Madanmohan Para, Post-Dinhata, Dist:-Coochbehar, Pin:-735135 and for this the the complainant had to pay Rs.73/- towards Postage Charge.

Admittedly the articles send by the complainant through the said Speed Post on 10/01/’14 were missing and those were not delivered to the addressee till date. Admittedly the complainant reported this matter to the OPs in writing and he even knocked the door of Asstt. Director, CA&FBP,Jalpaiguri but his grievance was not meet-up by the Postal authority. The complainant has filed this case on 4/8/14. Therefore we have no hesitation to hold that this case is well maintainable and the complainant is a consumer of the OPs.

The OPs in their W/V have claimed that the Postal employee advised the complainant to send his gift articles through parcel and not by Speed Post. But the OPs could not substantiate such of their claim by authentic and reliable document. That apart it is the very pertinent question here that when the Postal employee advised complainant to send his gift articles by parcel then why he allowed the complainant to send his gift articles by Speed Post? Such conduct on the part of Postal employee clearly suggests that the plea taken by the OP are baseless and devoid of force. Therefore as the complainant has send his gift articles by Speed Post on payment of Rs.73/- from Jalpaiguri Head Post Office and when those gift articles were not delivered to the addressee by the Postal Deptt. till date and when it is admitted by the OPs that the gift articles sent by complainant by Speed Post has been missing/lost, in that case the OPs are in the legal obligation to pay the price of the gift articles lost or missing from the custody of the Postal Deptt, to (its customer) i.e. the complainant and to pay compensation to the complainant for the mental agony he suffered for non delivery of the gift articles to the addressee in time and for harassment and the cost of litigation for filing this case etc.

All points are disposed of accordingly.

In the result the case succeeds.

Hence, it is

O R D E R E D

That the case/application is allowed on contest with cost of Rs.1,000/-.

The complainant do get an award of Rs.4,773/- towards price of lost gift articles.

The complainant do get further award of Rs.2,000/-in the head of mental agony,harassment etc. he suffered for non-delivery of gift articles to the addressee and for missing of the same.

The OPs are hereby directed to pay to the complainant (Rs.1,000/-+Rs.4,773/-+Rs.2,000/-)=Rs.7,773/-(Rupees Seven Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Three only) in total within 30 days from the date hereof  failing which it will carry interest@8% P.A. and the complainant shall be at liberty to realise the same by putting this order in to execution in accordance with law.

Let a plain copy of this order be supplied to the parties free of cost forthwith as per provision of Consumer Protection Act,1986.