Indian Post Office Act, 1898
4. Exclusive privilege of conveying letters reserved to
the Government
(1) Wherever within 5[India]
posts or postal communications are established by Central Government, the
Central Government shall have the exclusive privilege of conveying by post,
from one place to another, all letters except in the following cases, and shall
also have the exclusive privilege of performing all the incidental services of
receiving, collecting, sending, dispatching and delivering all letters, except
in the following cases that is to say:-
(a) letters sent by a private friend in his
way, journey or travel, to be delivered by him to the person to whom they are
directed, without hire, reward or other profit or advantage for receiving,
carrying or delivering them;
(b) letters solely concerning the affairs of
the sender or receiver thereof, sent by a messenger on purpose; and
(c) letters solely concerning goods or
property, sent either by sea or by land to be delivered with the goods or
property which the letters concern, without hire, reward or other profit or
advantage for receiving, carrying or delivering them :
Provided that nothing in this
section shall authorize any person to make a collection of letters excepted as
aforesaid for the purpose of sending them otherwise than by post.
(2) For the purposes
of this section and section 5, the expression "letters" includes
postcards.