KARACHI: A consumer court has imposed a fine of thousands of rupees on three Pakistan Post officials for delivering ‘garbage’ in a parcel instead of dried fruits booked by a man from Mansehra.

Plaintiff Muhammad Arshad, through his counsel Abdul Hanan, had filed a lawsuit under the relevant sections of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act 2014 against the Pakistan Post officials for their faulty services, mental agony and physical inconvenience.

Three officials — Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Arshad — had failed to appear before Judge Saifullah Phulphoto of the Consumer Protection Court (South), who consequently, decided to proceed against them ex parte.

In its decree, the court imposed a fine of Rs75,000 as compensation and Rs15,000 as the cost of the lawsuit to be paid by the three officials to the plaintiff.

“Courier service providers are under legal obligation to deliver the consignment in its original form when it is sent and if they fail to do so, they are guilty of non-delivery and such act of them falls within the category of deficiency in services,” the court observed.

The court also noted that the plaintiff has succeeded to establish that the defendants provided “faulty and defective services” to him and the negligence on their part caused financial damages and mental stress to him.

The plaintiff informed the court that in December 2020 he had booked a 10-kilogram parcel containing expensive dried fruits from the Mansehra General Post Office to be delivered to Karachi.

After receiving the parcel, he (plaintiff) alleged that it had been tampered with and filled with “dust and garbage” instead of the dried fruits.

He further stated that on his complaint the officials informed him that a departmental inquiry into the matter was pending. Later, after the conclusion of the inquiry, Pakistan Post found its three officials responsible for the “theft” and directed them to pay Rs333 each as compensation to the plaintiff.

As he was dissatisfied with the compensation amount, the plaintiff approached the office for reconsideration, but his request was declined. He further stated that Pakistan Post failed to initiate criminal proceedings against their staff members.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024