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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

05/12/23 06:30 AM IST

RS passes Post Office Bill to amend 125-year-old Indian Post Office Act

In News
  • The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Post Office Bill, 2023 that seeks to repeal the 125-year-old Indian Post Office Act and consolidate and amend the law relating to post offices in the country.
Major Provisions
  • The central government may, by notification, empower any officer to intercept, open or detain any item in the interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency or public safety, or upon the occurrence of any contravention of any of the provisions of any law for the time being in force.
  • The enactment of a new law in place of the Indian Post Office Act, 1898 is with a view to govern the functioning of the post offices in the country and provide for a simple legislative framework to facilitate the evolution of the post offices into a network for delivery of citizen-centric services.
  • The bill seeks to empower the director general of postal services to frame regulations in respect of activities necessary to provide those services and fix the charges for such services.
  • The government will not have exclusive privilege over conveying letters. Services to be provided by India Post will be prescribed under Rules.
  • The Director General of Postal Services will be appointed to head India Post. He will have powers to make regulations on various matters including tariffs for services and supply of postage stamps.
  • India Post will not incur any liability with regard to its services, except any liability prescribed through Rules.
  • Under the Act, an officer in charge may examine a postal article if he suspects that it contains goods which are prohibited, or are liable to be paid duty upon. The Bill removes the powers of examination. It instead provides that in such cases, the central government may empower an officer of India Post to deliver the postal article to the customs authority or any other specified authority. The authority will then deal with the item in question.
Issues
  • The Bill does not specify procedural safeguards for interception of articles transmitted through India Post. Lack of safeguards may violate freedom of speech and expression, and right to privacy of individuals.
  • The grounds for interception include ‘emergency’, which may be beyond reasonable restrictions under the Constitution.
  • The Bill exempts India Post from liability for lapses in postal services. Liability may be prescribed through Rules by the central government, which also administers India Post. This may lead to conflict of interest.
  • The Bill does not specify any offences and penalties. For instance, there are no consequences for unauthorised opening of postal articles by a postal officer. This may have adverse implications for the right to privacy of consumers.
Source- The Hindu

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