The postman should make it clear as to whether the registered letter was served on the addressee or refused by the addressee or no addressee was found in the given address, the judge said. |
CHENNAI: The Madras high
court has frowned on mechanical return of registered letters as
"unclaimed" by postmen, and said that in case they could not be
delivered, proper reasons must be given.
Justice S Tamilvanan, underscoring the importance of a registered post
in litigations and other matters, said that when people pay a fee and
affix sufficient postal stamp, the postal authorities or postmen must
discharge their duties in a responsible manner. The postman should make
it clear as to whether the registered letter was served on the addressee
or refused by the addressee or no addressee was found in the given
address, the judge said.
Passing orders on a matrimonial litigation, wherein a Chennai-based
woman wanted her divorce proceedings to be transferred from a Puducherry
court to a Chennai court, the judge said the woman's notice sent by
registered post had been returned undelivered with a simple endorsement
"unclaimed." Slamming the practice, Justice Tamilvanan said the court was of the view that the reason for the non-delivery of the notice had not been properly explained to the person who sent it.
"The endorsement 'not claimed' is required to be made in a responsible
manner by the postman or the official of the postal department, so as to
convey proper reason and to bring out the fact as to under what
circumstances the registered letter could not be served on the addressee
by the postman," the judge said.
In case the registered letter is delivered to a person other than the
addressee, the postman must obtain clear endorsement and explain the
relationship of the signatory who received the letter on behalf of the
addressee, Justice Tamilvanan said.
Return of registered letters with a comment "unclaimed" or with some
other improper endorsement would cause inconvenience to the general public and
the person seeking justice through court of law, the judge said,
adding: "Service of notice by registered post plays a vital role in
deciding several cases."
He then directed the chief post-master general of Tamil Nadu to give suitable instructions to all postal department officials to follow the guidelines laid down by the court in this case.
Source :The Times of India
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