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The Indian Post Office Act

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Post Offices in India.
1898
List of Chapters & Sections

  1. PRELIMINARY

  2. 1
     Short title, extent, application and commencement
  3. 2
     Definitions
  4. 3
     Meanings of “in course of transmission by post” and “delivery”

  • PRIVILEGE AND PROTECTION OF THE GOVERNMENT

  • 4
     Exclusive privilege of conveying letters reserved to the Government
  • 5
     Certain persons expressly forbidden to convey letters
  • 6
     Exemption from liability for loss, misdelivery, delay or damage

  • POSTAGE

  • 7
     Power to fix rates of inland postage
  • 8
     Power to make rules as to payment of postage and fees in certain cases
  • 9
     Power to make rules as to registered newspapers
  • 10
     Power to declare rates of foreign postage
  • 11
     Liability for payment of postage
  • 12
     Recovery of postage and other sums due in respect of postal articles
  • 13
     Customs duty paid by the post office to be recoverable as postage
  • 14
     Post Office marks prima facie evidence of certain facts denoted
  • 15
     Official mark to be evidence of amount of postage

  • POSTAGE STAMPS

  • 16
     Provision of postage stamps and power to make rules as to them
  • 17
     Postage stamps to be deemed to be stamps for the purpose of revenue

  • CONDITIONS OF TRANSMISSION OF POSTAL ARTICLES

  • 18
     Redelivery to sender of postal article in course of transmission by post
  • 19
     Transmission by post of anything injurious prohibited
  • 19A
     Transmission by post of tickets, proposals, etc., relating to unauthorised lotteries prohibited
  • 20
     Transmission by post of anything indecent, etc., prohibited
  • 21
     Power to make rules as to transmission by post of postal articles
  • 22
     Power to postpone dispatch or delivery of certain postal articles
  • 23
     Power to deal with postal articles posted in contravention of Act
  • 24
     Power to deal with postal articles containing goods contraband or liable to duty
  • 24A
     Power to deliver such articles to Customs authority
  • 25
     Power to intercept notified goods during transmission by post
  • 26
     Power to intercept postal articles for public good
  • 27
     Power to deal with postal articles from abroad bearing fictitious or previously used stamps
  • 27A
     Prohibition of transmission by post of certain newspapers
  • 27B
     Power to detain newspapers and other articles being transmitted by post
  • 27C
     Procedure for disposal by High Court of applications for release of newspapers and articles so detained
  • 27D
     Jurisdiction barred

  • REGISTRATION, INSURANCE AND VALUE-PAYABLE POST

  • 28
     Registration of postal articles
  • 29
     Power to make rules as to registration
  • 30
     Insurance of postal articles
  • 31
     Power to require insurance of postal articles
  • 32
     Power to make rules as to insurance
  • 33
     Liability in respect of postal articles insured
  • 34
     Transmission by post of value-payable postal articles
  • 35
     Power to make rules as to value-payable postal articles
  • 36
     Power to give effect to arrangements with other countries

  • UNDELIVERED POSTAL ARTICLES

  • 37
     Power to make rules as to disposal of undelivered postal articles
  • 38
     Disposal of undelivered postal articles at office of Post Master General
  • 39
     Final disposal of undelivered postal articles

  • SHIP LETTERS

  • 40
     Duty of master of ship, departing from any port in India and not being a mail ship, to convey mail bags
  • 41
     Duty of master of ship arriving at any port in India in respect of postal articles and mail bags on board
  • 42
     Allowance of gratuities for conveyance of postal articles by ships other than mail ships

  • MONEY ORDERS

  • 43
     Power to maintain money order system and to make rules as to remittances thereby
  • 44
     Power for remitter to recall money order or alter name of payee
  • 45
     Power to provide for the issue of postal orders
  • 46
     Power to give effect to arrangements with other countries
  • 47
     Recovery of money order paid to the wrong person
  • 48
     Exemption from liability in respect of money orders

  • Offences by officers of the Post Office

  • 49
     Penalty for misconduct of person employed to carry or deliver mail bags or postal articles
  • 50
     Penalty for voluntary withdrawal from duty, without permission or notice, of person employed to carry or deliver mail bags or postal articles
  • 51
     Penalty for making false entry in register kept by person employed to carry or deliver any postal articles
  • 52
     Penalty for theft, dishonest misappropriation, secretion, destruction, or throwing away of postal articles
  • 53
     Penalty for opening, detaining or delaying postal articles
  • 54
     Penalty for fraud in connection with official marks and for receipt of excess postage
  • 55
     Penalty for fraudulently preparing, altering secreting or destroying Post Office documents
  • 56
     Penalty for fraudulently sending unpaid postal articles
  • 57
     [Repealed.]

  • Other offences

  • 58
     Penalty for contravention of section 4
  • 59
     Penalty for contravention of section 5
  • 60
     Penalty for breach of rules under section 16
  • 61
     Penalty for contravention of section 19, 19A or 20
  • 62
     Penalty for defiling or injuring post office letter-boxes
  • 63
     Penalty for affixing without authority thing to, or painting, tarring or disfiguring, post office or post office letter-box
  • 64
     Penalty for making false declaration
  • 65
     Penalty for master of ship failing to comply with the provisions of section 40 or 41
  • 66
     Penalty for detention of letters on board vessel arriving in port
  • 67
     Penalty for detaining mails or opening mail bag
  • 68
     Penalty for retaining postal articles wrongly delivered or mail bags
  • 69
     Penalty for unlawfully diverting letters

  • General

  • 70
     Penalty for abetting or attempting to commit, offences under Act
  • 71
     Property in cases of offences to be laid in the Post Office
  • 72
     Authority for prosecutions under certain sections of Act

  • SUPPLEMENTAL

  • 73
     Zamindari and other district posts
  • 74
     General power to make rules and provisions as to rules under Act
  • 75
     Delegation of powers, other than rule-making powers to Director General
  • 76
     [Repealed.]
  • 77
     [Repealed.]