Section List

Act Number: 6

Act Name: The Indian Post Office Act, 1898

Year: 1898

Enactment Date: 1898-03-22

Long Title: An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Post Offices in India.

Ministry: Ministry of Communications

Department: Department of Posts

Section NumberTitleActions
1Short title, extent, application and commencement.
2Definitions.
3Meanings of “in course of transmission by post” and “delivery”.
4Exclusive privilege of conveying letters reserved to the Government.
5Certain persons expressly forbidden to convey letters.
6Exemption from liability for loss, misdelivery, delay or damage.
7Power to fix rates of inland postage.
8Power to make rules as to payment of postage and fees in certain cases.
9Power to make rules as to registered newspapers.
10Power to declare rates of foreign postage.
11Liability for payment of postage.
12Recovery of postage and other sums due in respect of postal articles.
13Customs duty paid by the post office to be recoverable as postage.
14Post Office marks prima facie evidence of certain facts denoted.
15Official mark to be evidence of amount of postage.
16Provision of postage stamps and power to make rules as to them.
17Postage stamps to be deemed to be stamps for the purpose of revenue.
18Redelivery to sender of postal article in course of transmission by post.
19Transmission by post of anything injurious prohibited.
19ATransmission by post of tickets, proposals, etc., relating to unauthorised lotteries prohibited.
20Transmission by post of anything indecent, etc., prohibited.
21Power to make rules as to transmission by post of postal articles.
22Power to postpone dispatch or delivery of certain postal articles.
23Power to deal with postal articles posted in contravention of Act.
24Power to deal with postal articles containing goods contraband or liable to duty.
24APower to deliver such articles to Customs authority.
25Power to intercept notified goods during transmission by post.
26Power to intercept postal articles for public good.
27Power to deal with postal articles from abroad bearing fictitious or previously used stamps.
27AProhibition of transmission by post of certain newspapers.
27BPower to detain newspapers and other articles being transmitted by post.
27DJurisdiction barred.
28Registration of postal articles.
29Power to make rules as to registration.
30Insurance of postal articles.
31Power to require insurance of postal articles.
32Power to make rules as to insurance.
33Liability in respect of postal articles insured.
34Transmission by post of value-payable postal articles.
35Power to make rules as to value-payable postal articles.
36Power to give effect to arrangements with other countries.
37Power to make rules as to disposal of undelivered postal articles.
38Disposal of undelivered postal articles at office of Post Master General.
39Final disposal of undelivered postal articles.
42Allowance of gratuities for conveyance of postal articles by ships other than mail ships.
43Power to maintain money order system and to make rules as to remittances thereby.
44Power for remitter to recall money order or alter name of payee.
45Power to provide for the issue of postal orders.
46Power to give effect to arrangements with other countries.
47Recovery of money order paid to the wrong person.
48Exemption from liability in respect of money orders.
49Penalty for misconduct of person employed to carry or deliver mail bags or postal articles.
53Penalty for opening, detaining or delaying postal articles.
54Penalty for fraud in connection with official marks and for receipt of excess postage.
55Penalty for fraudulently preparing, altering secreting or destroying Post Office documents.
56Penalty for fraudulently sending unpaid postal articles.
57[Repealed.].
58Penalty for contravention of section 4.
59Penalty for contravention of section 5.
60Penalty for breach of rules under section 16.
61Penalty for contravention of section 19, 19A or 20.
62Penalty for defiling or injuring post office letter-boxes.
64Penalty for making false declaration.
66Penalty for detention of letters on board vessel arriving in port.
67Penalty for detaining mails or opening mail bag.
68Penalty for retaining postal articles wrongly delivered or mail bags.
69Penalty for unlawfully diverting letters.
70Penalty for abetting or attempting to commit, offences under Act.
71Property in cases of offences to be laid in the Post Office.
72Authority for prosecutions under certain sections of Act.
73Zamindari and other district posts.
74General power to make rules and provisions as to rules under Act.
75Delegation of powers, other than rule-making powers to Director General.
76[Repealed.].
77[Repealed.].
27CProcedure for disposal by High Court of applications for release of newspapers and articles so detained.
40Duty of master of ship, departing from any port in India and not being a mail ship, to convey mail bags.
41Duty of master of ship arriving at any port in India in respect of postal articles and mail bags on board.
50Penalty for voluntary withdrawal from duty, without permission or notice, of person employed to carry or deliver mail bags or postal articles.
51Penalty for making false entry in register kept by person employed to carry or deliver any postal articles.
52Penalty for theft, dishonest misappropriation, secretion, destruction, or throwing away of postal articles.
63Penalty for affixing without authority thing to, or painting, tarring or disfiguring, post office or post office letter-box.
65Penalty for master of ship failing to comply with the provisions of section 40 or 41.
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