Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

82. Compensation for loss of, or damage to, articles of the foreign post. – In all cases in
which registered articles or parcels exchanged between India and other countries by the foreign
post are lost or damaged, and compensation is payable under the rules, the question whether the
compensation, or any part of it, should be paid by the Indian Post Office may be decided by Heads
of circles without reference to the Director-General, except in cases in which there is any dispute
between the Indian Post Office and any other Postal Administration, when the orders of the
Director-General should always be taken. In all cases of loss, and in cases of damage to parcels
and insured letter posted in India, the decision will rest with the Head of the Circle to whom the
office of exchange is subordinate. In cases of damage to parcels and insured letters received for
delivery in India, the decision will rest with the Head of the Circle in which the office of delivery
is situated, who will communicate his decision and the reasons for it to the Head of the Circle to
whom the office of exchange is subordinate. The liability of the Indian Post Office in respect of
the payment of compensation for the loss of a registered article exchanged with Great Britain and
Northern Ireland will similarly be decided by the Head of the Circle to whom the office of delivery
or the office of exchange is subordinate according as the article was received for delivery or was
posted in India.
83. Omitted.
84. Omitted.
85. Cash safe for Branch Offices. – Although it is laid down in rule 287, that in cases in
which a safe has not been supplied to a branch office, the branch postmaster will make his own
arrangements on his own responsibility for the custody of cash and valuables, it is not intended that
the branch postmaster’s responsibility should be strictly enforced in all cases of loss. There may
be cases in which the loss was clearly due to causes over which the branch postmaster had no
control and to which he had in no way contributed through negligence or carelessness, and it is
necessary, therefore, that discretion should be exercised in enforcing responsibility. If, however,
in any case it is proposed not to enforce the branch postmaster’s responsibility, full reasons should
be recorded in cases which are within the powers of the Head of the Circle of write-off and
reported to the Director-General in other cases.
86. Weekly sorting orders. – All changes in the sorting arrangements of the circle should
be incorporated in a sorting order which should be issued weekly and numbered in a consecutive
annual series. Copies of these sorting order should be supplied direct to all Heads of Circles,
Superintendents, R.M.S. concerned of other circles, Superintendents of post offices whose
jurisdiction there are offices in direct mail communication with the sorting offices and sections in
the circle, and to all post offices which are affected by the changes ordered therein. Copies should
also be supplied direct to all Superintendent, Inspectors, record clerks and sub-record clerks in the
circle.
NOTE – Occasionally, owing to urgency, it may be necessary to issue a sorting order
without waiting for it to be included in the next weekly sorting order. In such case, a serial No.
should be assigned to the “occasional” order in the weekly sorting order and against this No. a
brief reference should be made to the “occasional” order, without repeating it in full detail. For the
purpose of this references, all occasional sorting orders should be numbered consecutively in a
separate series.
87. Construction of an alteration in, mail vans- The Head of the Circle, controlling the
budget allotment for a particular railway, should submit to the Director-General all proposals for
the construction of mail vans over that railway. He should also submit for approval of the
Director-General such of the proposals for alterations in the internal fittings of the mail vans as are