BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL

FORUM
(Ropar)
CONSUMER COMPLAINT NO. _______ OF 2020

IN THE MATTER OF:-

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra S/o Shri ________ R/o _____ Landran, Mohali

Aadhar No. ___________

Email id – ____________

Phone No. - ___________

COMPLAINANT

VERSUS

1. Landran Post Office,

S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali),

140307

Telephone no. __________

Email id _________________

OPP. PARTY NO. 1

2. Ropar Head Post Office,

Sadabharat Colony, Rupnagar,

Punjab, 140003

Telephone no. __________

Email id _______________

OPP. PARTY NO. 2

 INDEX

S.NO PARTICULARS PAGE NO

1 Dates & events

2 Memo of parties

3 Complaint

4 Affidavit

5 Annexure

6 Vakalatnama

Date -

Place -

Advocate stamp and signature -

Signature of Complainant.
 BEFORE THE HON’BLE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTE
REDRESSAL FORUM AT ROPAR

Consumer Complaint ..…../2020

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra S/o Shri ________ R/o _____

COMPLAINANT

VERSUS

1. Landran Post Office, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), 140307

OPP. PARTY NO. 1

2. Ropar Head Post Office, Sadabharat Colony, Rupnagar, Punjab,

140003

OPP. PARTY NO. 2

PROCESS FEE

The required court fee of Rupees__________ for handling the dispute

has been submitted in the form of a demand draft. The photocopy of the
demand draft has been attached to the back of this page.

Date-

Place-
Advocate stamp and signature-
Signature of the Complainant-
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
DATE
27th July, 2020
3rd August, 2020
EVENT
On this date Complainant’s sister posted
rakhi to him.
Complainant called several times at the
Post Office, Landran on the day of Raksha
Bandhan to ask for his consignment but no
response.
Complainant went to the Post Office,
Landran to ask for his consignment as his
calls were getting ignored but rather than
helping him Post Office Officials harassed
him
Finally after maintaining pressure on
Officials Complainant was told his
consignment is stuck at Chandigarh Post
Office but nobody was ready to help him.
Complainant made a phone call to the Post
Office, Chandigarh to inquire for his
consignment but he was again harassed by
the official over the call.
 12th August, 2020 Complainant finally received the
consignment after 17 days.

Date –

Place –

Advocate stamp and signature

Signature of the Complainant

 BEFORE THE HON’BLE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTE
REDRESSAL FORUM AT ROPAR

Consumer Complaint ..…../2020

MEMO OF THE PARTIES

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra, ___, s/o Mr. _______, r/o Landran, Mohali

Aadhar No. ___________

Email id – ____________

Phone No. - ___________

………………………………………………..
………………..Complainant

VERSUS

Landran Post Office,

S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali),

140307

Telephone no. __________

Email id _________________

OPP. PARTY NO. 1

Ropar Head Post Office,

Sadabharat Colony, Rupnagar,

Punjab, 140003
Telephone no. __________

Email id _______________

OPP. PARTY NO. 2

 Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986,
seeking redressal of grievances for deficiency in services and unfair
trade practices before The Hon’ble District Consumer Dispute
Redressal Forum.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:-

This complaint is present under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection

Act, 1986 on the ground stated herein under:

1. That, the Complainant is a resident of Landran, Punjab and the

Complainant is a law abiding citizen and is a respectable and responsible
citizen of India. Complainant is a consumer as he availed the postal
services of the respondent as per Section 2(1)(d) of Consumer Protection
Act,1986. Complainant is competent to file this complaint in Jurisdiction
of India.

2. That the respondents are a government organization providing postal

services in their respective districts. The complainant availed their
services by agreeing to what was written on the website who says that
local posts are delivered within 2-3 days but complainant is displeased as
the respondents failed to deliver his consignment even near to the time-
line.

Several complaints were lodged with the department concerned which

did not yield any result.

3. Facts of the case:-

3.1Complainant’s sister posted a rakhi to him by availing Respondents

services through speed post on 27/7/20 i.e 7 days before Rakshabandhan.
According to the website of Indian Post, the consignment was supposed
to reach within 2-3 days but it reached after 2 weeks. The receipt of fee
of the speed post is attached on Annexure 1.

3.2After 6-7 days when the consignment failed to reach my client on time,
then on 3/8/2020 i.e the day of Rakshabandhan, my client contacted the
 Post Office, Landran but his phone calls were not addressed by the
Officials, failing which, he went to the office to ask for his consignment.

3.3 When my client asked for his consignment, the Official of the Post
Office, Landran blatantly without checking told my client that there was
no consignment on his name.

3.4 On more insisting and waiting by my client, the respondents finally

tracked the consignment which was at Post Office, Chandigarh. Then my
client requested for the contact number of the Post Office, Chandigarh
for reaching the consignment early but his request was not catered by the
Officials. Rather, he was told that his consignment will not reach him
that day and nothing will happen when he requested them more.

3.5 And when my client politely asked the officials of the Post Office,
Landran that why were they not picking up the class, they responded/lied
to my client that their telephone was out of service from may days but
when my client dialed the post office number in front of them, the
telephone rang. Further he was harassed more by the officials of Post
Office for the same reason when he inquired.

3.6 Complainant finally got the contact details of the Post Office,
Chandigarh. On making a call to ask about his consignment the
executive of the post office not only refused to help him but also
harassed him on the class.

3.7 Later my client contacted again and this time he was told that his
consignment won’t reach him on the day of Rakshabandhan. Finally the
consignment was received by my client on 12/8/2020, which is 17 days
after it was posted.

4. That the complainant is approaching Hon’ble forum under Section

12(1)(a) of The Consumer Protection Act,1986 as the incident that
happened was highly unlawful on the part of Respondents being a
government organization and on the part of Officials of Post Office
being the public employees.

4.1 Consignment’s delivery was immensely delayed by the Respondents,

thus they showed deficiency in their services as per Section 2(1)(g) by
showing imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature
 and manner of performance which is to be maintained being a
governmental organization.

4.2 Precisely there was a delay of 9 days in the delivery of the consignment
and it did not reach the complainant on the desired time i.e before
3/08/20 this elucidate the nature of unfair trade practice adopted by the
trader u/s 2(r)(1)(ii) when it has clearly mentioned on the website online
that “Any local posts will be delivered within 2-3 days”.

4.3Complainant wants to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or

unscrupulous exploitation of consumers Under Section 6(e) of the
Consumer Protection Act,1986

4.4That Complainant’s sister sent the rakhi by speed post with a view that it
will reach the complainant before Rakshabandhan. But it reached the
complainant weeks after the festival. The Complainant told the Officials
a couple of times that it was necessary for the rakhi to reach him before
or on the day of festival, but request was not accepted rather he was
harassed. The religious sentiments of the Complainant have been hurt
which makes the Respondents liable according to Section-295(A) of the
Indian Penal Code,1860.

4.5 Respondents website Indian Post clearly says that any inland parcel will
be delivered within 2-3 days. Thus Complainant trusted and availed their
services but his consignment reached after a delay of 2 weeks. This delay
caused the respondents lead to a breach of trust of the Complainant and
hence the Respondents are liable under sections 406 read with 405 of the
Indian Penal Code,1860.

4.6 That both Respondents have acted negligently by not only performing
their duty but also by harassing the Complainant at both the Post Office
and over the call which has lead to sheer amount of mental agony. Hence
Respondents are jointly liable under section 34 of the Indian Penal Code,
1860. The Respondents are liable under sections 506 read with 503 and
504 of the Indian Penal Code,1860.

4.7 That the Complainant is entitled to receive the refund of the expenses
spent on the speed post under section-66 B (4) of the Indian Post Office
Rules,1933 because the consignment was not delivered at the stipulated
time.
5. That this case is not filed before any court till now and this is the first
time it is being filed. And the Complainant will file a separate complaint
pertaining to civil and criminal matters given in Para 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
before the appropriate authority for availing appropriate remedies.

6. Now kind attention of this Hon’ble Court is to be drawn towards this

judgment given by the Hon’ble Judges of India

In the case of Post Office & Anr. vs Akhilesh Grover, Hon’ble National
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission held that the OP has to pay
the said amount to the Complainant for for causing him mental, physical
harassment and agony including litigation costs because they failed to
deliver his consignment in time.

“Any statute providing immunity as to the liability of service provider does not come
in the way of right of consumer to the compensated in terms in section 14 (1) (d) of
the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, whereby Consumer Forum after satisfying about
the deficiency in service may order to pay such an amount as compensation for any
loss or injury including mental agony, harassment, physical discomfort suffered by
consumer due to the negligence of the OP, therefore, the immunity under the law of
any officer or of any Government authority is nothing to do with the concept of
compensation to a consumer as to the negligence of the OPs in not maintaining
standard of service.”

"..............................We are of the opinion that the complainant had prepared for the
examination and had undergone through a trauma when his application received
late and he had to undergone to litigation although he was not successful. In our
opinion some enhancement of the compensation is required because a sum of
Rs.50,000/- is very petty amount keeping in view of the deficiency in service of OPs.
In our view, Rs.1.00 lakh will be an adequate compensation.

Likewise, in the instant matter, the consignment reached the complainant

two weeks after the stipulated time even though it was grave for the
consignment to reach him within time period as it contained Rakhi and
he needed the package before Rakshabandhan. The laxity and
harassment exhibited by the respondents led to mental agony and injury
to the religious sentiments of the complainant.

7. Pecuniary Jurisdiction - That the expenses which Complainant has to

bear on rendering the services of the Respondent and on hiring an
advocate and bringing this case to the Hon’ble Court combined are less
 than Rs. 20,00,000. Therefore, as per Section 11(1) of The Consumer
Protection Act,1986 this forum has jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute

8. Territorial Jurisdiction - That the complainant is a resident of Landran

and made several phone calls to the Post Office, Landran where his
phone calls were blatantly ignored. He, then, visited Post office, Landran
where he was harassed. Then he called Post Office Chandigarh, where
again he was harassed by the officials. Complainant resides in Landran
and the Post office Landran, Ropar was the centre of the entire incident.
Therefore, the Hon’ble Court has full territorial jurisdiction to settle
upon the dispute.

9. That the first cause of action began on 27/7/20 when Complainant’s

Sister posted Rakhi for the first time. The second cause of action started
when the Complainant tried to call the Post Office Landran on 3/8/20
and his phone calls were ignored by the officials. Then, the third cause of
action started on the same day when the complainant went to Post Office
Landran personally where instead of helping him he was harassed by the
Officials. The fourth cause of action started when he contacted the Post
Office in Chd where he was again harassed over the phone call by the
Executive and was told that his consignment won’t reach him on the
stipulated time. The final cause of action happened when the
complainant received the consignment on 12.08.20 around two weeks
after it being posted and hence the cause of action is still going on as
Complainant is still in mental agony.

10. That the first cause of action was on 27/7/20 and the last cause of action
was on 12/8/20 which implies that this dispute has been taken to the
court within its limitation period.

11. Hence, the complainant has brought this case before the Hon’ble Court
where he was the consumer of postal services rendered by the
Respondents who showed deficiency and sheer negligence in delivering
his consignment of Raakhi on the stipulated time thereby critically
injuring his religious sentiments and breaching his trust. There was
intentional harassment and laxity shown on part of the respondents. They
harassed the complainant merely because he requested for help. The
incident has tarnished his mental peace and he is suffering from mental
agony.
12. That in the interest of justice the claims of compensation and refund
should be allowed and also the interest as stated here befor

PRAYER

It is, therefore, prayed with utmost respect –

· That respondents shall be directed to repay the amount given by

complainant for rendering their services along with all the interest to the
extent of ______

· That complainant shall be compensated for the harassment which led to

mental agony of the complainant to the extent of _______

· That respondents shall pay the litigation charges of ________

· That the officials of the respondents that harassed the complainant shall
be suspended for a period that is suitable to the Hon’ble Forum.

· That Hon’ble Forum may issue any other order or direction which is
deemed fit and proper in the fact and circumstances, in the interest of
justice.

Place – Ropar

Date -

Signature of Complainant

Complaint through Advocate of complainant

Signature of Advocate
 VERIFICATION

I, Abhishek Malhotra, son of ____________, resident of Landran,

Mohali, do hereby solemnly affirm and states that the contents and
particulars of the complaint stated above are true and correct to the best
of my knowledge and belief and no part of it is false and no material has
been concealed therein.

Verified at __________ on ____________

……………………………………………………...
………..Complainant
 BEFORE THE HON’BLE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTE
REDRESSAL FORUM AT ROPAR

Consumer Complaint ..…../2020

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra S/o Shri ________ R/o _____

COMPLAINANT

VERSUS

1. Landran Post Office, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), 140307 OPP. PARTY

NO. 1

2. Ropar Head Post Office, Sadabharat Colony, Rupnagar, Punjab,

140003 OPP. PARTY NO. 2

AFFIDAVIT

I, Abhishek Malhotra, s/o _____, aged_ years old, r/o Landran, Mohali,
do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under -

1. That I am the complainant in the above stated complaint and the

complaint filed by me before this Forum is correct and based on
evidences.

2. That I am fully competent to file the complaint and to depose this

affidavit.

3. That I know all the facts and circumstances of the incident stated above.
4. That I have read and fully understood the contents and particulars of the
above stated case and they are true and correct to the best of myl
knowledge and no material fact has been suppressed.

Signature of Complainant

5. That the complaint has been filed in good faith and to seek justice from
the Hon’ble Court.

DATE:

DEPONENT

Signature of the complainant

VERIFICATION

I, Abhishek Malhotra, do hereby verify that the contents of the above

affidavit are true and correct best to my personal knowledge and nothing
has been concealed or falsely stated.

Verified at ___________ on __________

Signature of the DEPONENT

ANNEXURE 1

(Advocate Welfare Ticket)

(Court Fee Ticket)

(Special Fee BCI Ticket)

 BEFORE THE HON’BLE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTE
REDRESSAL FORUM AT ROPAR

Consumer Complaint ..…../2020

Mr. Abhishek Malhotra S/o Shri ________ R/o _____

COMPLAINANT

VERSUS

1. Landran Post Office, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), 140307

OPP. PARTY NO. 1

2. Ropar Head Post Office, Sadabharat Colony, Rupnagar, Punjab,

140003
 OPP. PARTY NO. 2

VAKALATNAMA

I, Abhishek Malhotra, the complainant, in the above complaint,

appearing before the District Court Redressal Forum, Ropar do hereby
appoint and retain _________ Advocate as my counsels to act and
appear on my behalf in the above complaint and to plead and argue for
the same in all proceedings that may be taken in respect of any
application connected with the same or any decree or order passed
therein including proceedings involving taxation and applications for
review, to file and obtain return of documents and to deposit and receive
money on my behalf in the said complaint. They are fully authorized to
sign every relevant document and file any application (s). They will
inspect the court files and records and will obtain certified copies of
orders and documents. They will continue to be my counsel in every
further proceeding of Review, Revision, and Appeal etc. I undertake to
pay the full fee of my counsels along with full miscellaneous expenses
charged before first argument of the above case. If the entire settled fee
is not paid as and when demanded, then the counsel is not bound to
appear in the court and attend any work on my behalf. If the matter is
decided or any order is passed against me then the counsels will not be
responsible and answerable for the same in any manner. Also, they are
fully authorized to engage any other counsel along with them or in their
place. I also agree to pay such new counsel engaged by my counsels.
The counsels will be entitled to receive and retain any cost awarded to
me as his extra cost of appearances apart from their fee. They will not be
responsible to pay any cost awarded against me. Every act done by the
counsel in good faith will be binding on me.

Date –

Place –

Signature of complainant -

Signature of Advocates -