Indian Post Office Act, 1898

[Act No. 6 of 1898 dated 22nd. March, 1898]¹

Contents
Sections	Particulars
Chapter I	Preliminary
1	Short title, extent, application and commencement
2	Definitions
3	Meanings of "in course of transmission by post" and "delivery"
Chapter II	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
Chapter III	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
Chapter IV	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
Chapter V	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 unauthorized 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
Chapter VI	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
Chapter VII	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
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
Chapter IX	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
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 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	Punishment of offences committed in a tribal area, Acceding State or other Indian State-Repealed by the Finance Act, 1950
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
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
Chapter XI	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	[Repeal- Repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1914]
77	[Saving- Repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1952]
	The First Schedule
	Foot Notes

An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to the Post Office in India.

WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Post Office in India;

It is hereby enacted as follows: -

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