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Journalism of Courage
MOGA, Aug 9: The Moga district consumer redressal forum held sub post master of Nihalsinghwala responsible for failing to deliver a registered letter containing passport and directed that the complainant Darshan Singh, a doctor by profession, be paid damages to the tune of Rs 7,000 along with cost of Rs 500.
Darshan Singh filed a complaint that his passport was due to expire in December 1996 so on September 20, 1996 he applied for renewing the passport. The complaint alleged that he did not receive the passport for sometime and on inquiry he found that the passport had been despatched on October 24, 1996 via registered letter.
The complainant alleged that the respondent delivered the registered letter to some body else. He said that he visited the passport office at Chandigarh several times during the months of April and May 1998 and inquired about the passport and requested for new passport. Singh alleged that the respondent deliberately misplaced the passport.
The complainant, who is a green card holder of USA, said that he wanted to visit USA, Canada, England and Singapore for urgent work but was unable to do so because of the missing passport. The complainant prayed for the damages to the tune of Rs 10,000 as according to him, his work suffered due to frequent visits to Chandigarh.
The second respondent, the senior post master general of Sector 17 post office in Chandigarh and the sub postmaster of Nihalsinghwala admitted in their replies that registered letter containing the passport was dispatched from Chandigarh and was received at Nihalsinghwala after three days and was sent for delivery. The postman admitted that due to a heavy work schedule he delivered the registered letter to some body else.
