Consumer court orders post office to pay Rs 10k for deficient service
Rourkela: A
consumer court
in
Jharsuguda
has directed the postmaster of a sub-post office to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to Sundargarh man for
service deficiency
that resulted in denial of information under
RTI Act
.
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Paul Meher from Bhasma in Sundargarh district had filed an RTI application with the assistant engineer, RWSS division, Jharsuguda, on July 28, 2023. After being asked to pay a processing fee of Rs 52, Meher sent the amount through electronic money order (EMO) on Aug 24.
However, due to delays at the OMP Line sub-post office, the payment reached the RWSS division only on Sept 4, beyond the stipulated 15-day period. This led to the assistant engineer's office refusing to accept the payment and subsequently denying the RTI information.
The post office held onto the returned amount for 45 days before refunding it to Meher on Oct 20. During the hearing, the post master failed to appear before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jharsuguda, while the assistant engineer's office maintained they were correct in refusing the delayed payment as per RTI guidelines.
The commission found the post office guilty of service deficiency, noting that they failed to promptly communicate the payment's refusal to the complainant.
The order, issued on April 23 this year, requires the post master to pay the compensation within one month, failing which the amount will attract 12% annual interest until realisation.
The commission absolved the assistant engineer's office of any wrongdoing, stating they were not liable for the post office's negligence.
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