Indian Post Office Act, 1898
24. Power to deal with postal articles containing goods
contraband or liable to duty
19 [Except as otherwise
provided in this Act, where a postal article suspected to contain any goods of
which the import by post or the transmission by post is prohibited by or under
any enactment for the time being in force,] or anything liable to duty, is
received for delivery at a post office, the officer in charge of the post
office shall send a notice in writing to the addressee inviting him to attend,
either in person or by agent, within a specified time at the post office, and
shall in the presence of the addressee or his agent, or if the addressee or his
agent fails to attend as aforesaid then in his absence, open and examine the
postal article:
Provided, first, that,
if the Director General so directs in the case of any post office or class of
post offices, the officer in charge of the post office shall call in two
respectable persons as witnesses before he opens a postal article in the
absence of the addressee or his agent:
Provided , secondly, that in
all cases a postal article, after being opened under this section, shall be
delivered to the addressee, unless it is required for the purpose of any
further proceeding under this or any other law or enactment for the time being
in force, and that the opening of the postal article and the circumstances
connected therewith shall be immediately reported to the Post Master General.
20 [***]