Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

(2) When any article issued from a R.L.O. is returned undelivered, it will be examined to
see whether the information on which it was issued was sufficient or reliable. If it is found that the
revised address was incomplete or illegible owing to carelessness or bad writing or that an article
was issued unopened for return to the sender though the latter’s name and address were not fully
given on the cover, disciplinary action should be taken against the official concerned. This duty of
examination will be entrusted by the Manager to a senior experienced clerk in the R.L.O.
400. Secrecy. – Every person employed in a R.L.O. must in accordance with section 38 (I)
(b) of the Post Office Act, be bound to secrecy, i.e., not to divulge information obtained from any
letter or other article opened and read or examined by him. The Manager, Assistant Manager and
each clerk will, therefore, on appointment to a R.L.O., be required to sign a bond of secrecy in
form R.L.O. 17.
401. Qualifications of officials. – The Manager, the Assistant Manager, and the clerks of a
R.L.O. should be perfectly trustworthy and should possess a good knowledge of English. The
clerks should be so selected that difficulty will be experienced in reading the various vernacular
characters. They should be required to commit to memory that portion of the List of Indian Offices
which comprises the names of the post offices in the Circle or Circles served by the R.L.O. in
which they are employed.
402. Distribution of work. – (1) The Head of Circle may delegate to the Assistant
Manager or to the Head Clerk all or any of the personal duties of the Manager except those relating
to the custody of cash, currency notes, postage and other stamps, British and Indian postal orders,
cheques Bank drafts. Hundis and all articles of value or containing valuable property (see rule
424).
NOTE.- No delegation of any of the duties relating to the custody of cash, currency notes, articles of
value, etc., to the Assistant Manager or to a Head Clerk can be made except with the sanction of the
Director General.
(2) A memo. of distribution of work will be supplied to the R.L.O. by the Head of the
Circle. The memo. will show the personal duties of the Manager that are delegated to the Assistant
Manager or to the Head Clerk, as the case may require, and the duties of the head or senior clerks
in charge of the different branches of work in a R.L.O., such as, the opening and closing of mails,
disposal of undelivered and Returned unregistered articles or of registered articles of the letter and
parcel mails, etc. The memo. of distribution of work will also show by whom one of the two keys
of the almirahs under double lock, or of the iron safe or safes, is to be kept.
403. Custody of keys. – (1) The almirah in a R.L.O. will always be kept locked, and except
in the case mentioned in paragraph (2) below, the senior or head clerk of each branch of the office
will be responsible for the keys of the almirahs in his branch. The keys must be kept in his
personal custody after, as well as during office hours and the almirahs will be opened only when
necessary and in the presence of the senior or head clerk who will continue to be present until the
are locked again.
(2) All the almirahs containing articles of value or valuable property and the iron safe in a
R.L.O. will be secured with double locks. The key of one of the locks must remain in the personal
custody of the Manager and the key of the other in the personal custody of the senior or head clerk
in charge of the registration branch. None of these almirahs nor the iron safe will be opened
except in the presence of the Manager who will continue to be present until the are locked again.