Postal dept to pay for lost mobile, job

BANGALORE: If a parcel meant for you doesn't reach via speed post, the consumer court will rescue you, as it has done in the case of an employee of a private firm. The story of a lost cellphone has put postal authorities in the dock.
The manager, speed post concentration centre, GPO, and sub-post master, SBM Colony , will have to cough up Rs 53,000 between them to compensate a sales executive of a cellphone company, who lost his job two years ago because of ‘deficiency in service' on the part of the officials.
Observing that the officials failing to deliver a parcel to the given address amounted to deficiency in service, the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Forum directed the officials to compensate one Rajesh, 26.
Early this month, a bench of B S Reddy, M Yashodhamma and A Muniyappa directed the officials to pay compensation of Rs 50,000 and Rs 3,000 as cost of litigation to Rajesh in four weeks' time.
Rajesh was working as a sales executive in a mobile store in the city. He was asked to deliver a repaired mobile phone worth Rs 33,869 to a mobile phone centre at Bijapur in February 2009. Rajesh had sent the phone through speed post service from SBM Colony Post Office in the city.
After the parcel failed to reach the given address in Bijapur, Rajesh made enquiries with the sub-post master, who told him the parcel had been dispatched from their office to the GPO, which should have delivered it to Bijapur. The authorities failed to answer Rajesh's enquiries regarding the parcel. The loss of the parcel also created suspicion at his workplace. His bona fides under a cloud, he was asked to pay up Rs 33,869, and sacked.
Rajesh later sent a legal notice to both the authorities. In reply, he was sent a cheque of Rs 90 as compensation for loss of the article , according to provisions of the law. Rajesh then moved the consumer court, seeking compensation. "The complainant never disclosed the contents of the speed post article , hence we were not aware of the allegations made therein," stated their reply.
They also said that in case of loss, the postal department's liability is to pay compensation double the amount of speed post charges paid or Rs 1,000, whichever is less.