BENGALURU: The consumer commission has directed the chief postmaster general of Karnataka to pay Rs 78,650, which is the cost of the study material with 10 per cent interest, Rs 25,000 compensation and Rs 20,000 litigation expenses to a complainant, Aparna (name changed), residing at Malleshwaram, for losing the parcel sent to Assam.
Aparna was attending classes to crack the UPSC exam in the city and the institute had provided a computer tablet costing Rs 69,000 which contained the study material. She sent the tab and a mobile phone worth Rs 9,650 to her friend in Assam through a registered post at Yelahanka Old Town in January 2021.
Only 17 articles out of the 22 in the parcel bag were delivered to her friend, while five items were missing. As she did not have the tablet, she could not get through preliminary exams of UPSC and later she approached the Bengaluru Rural and Urban First Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
It observed that Aparna filed a complaint regarding the lost articles with the postal authorities, but they did not care to compensate her. The postal department contended that the articles in the parcel were not insured and cited the Rule 172 of the Indian Post Office Act 1878, under which the maximum amount payable for lost articles is Rs 10,000. Further, as the Central Government is exempt from liability for loss, delay or damage, it contended that only an ex-gratia payment of Rs 100 can be made.
The commission comprising president HR Srinivas and Members YS Thammanna and SM Sharavathi noted that the Act was passed in 1878 which is almost 150 years old and the value of property and articles has gone up telescopically. But the Government of India is still hanging on to the old Act of 1878 passed at the time of the British.
Despite India getting Independence 75 years ago, no improvement, amendment and changes have been made to the Act. “We have to say that the said Act cannot be considered at this juncture, in view of the sea changes that have taken place worldwide,” it observed, awarding the compensation.