CHAPTER VII
UNDELIVERED POSTA
L ARTICLES
37.
Power to make rules as to disposal of undelivered postal
articles.
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(1) Central Government may make rules as to the
disposal of postal articles which for any reason cannot be delivered
(hereinafter referred to as “undelivered postal arti
cles”)
(2) In particular without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
power, such rules may
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(a) prescribe the period during which undelivered postal articles at a
post office shall remain in that office; and
(b) provide for the
publication of lists of undelivered postal articles,
or of any class of undelivered postal articles.
(3) Every undelivered postal article, after being detained at a post office
for the period prescribed by rule under the foregoing provisions of this
Se
ction, shall be either forwarded, free of further charge, to the post
office at which it was posted, for return to the sender, or sent to the
office of the Postmaster General.
38.
Disposal
of undelivered postal articles at office of Post
Master Genera
l.
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(1) Every postal article received at the office of the
Post Master General under sub
-
section (3) of section 37 shall be dealt
with as follows:
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(a) if practicable, it shall be redirected and forwarded by post to the
addressee; or
(b) if it cannot be r
edirected and forwarded as aforesaid, it shall be
opened by some officer, appointed by the Post Master General in this
behalf and bound to secrecy, in order to ascertain the name and
address of the sender.
(2) If the name and address of the sender are so
ascertained, it shall
be returned by post to the sender, free of further charge or subject to
such further charge as the Central Government may, by rule, direct.
39.
Final disposal of undelivered postal articles
.
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Undelivered
postal articles which cann
ot be disposed of under the foregoing
provisions, shall be detained in the office of the Post master General for
such further period (if any), and shall be dealt with in such manner, as
the [Central Government] may, by rule, direct:
Provided that
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