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Judgment
THE appellant is the original complainant who had sent one envelop alleged to contain documents from Keshod to Rajkot through Angadiya service of the respondent. He had also paid Rs. 3 as charges for the delivery of the said envelop. It is admitted that the envelop has not been delivered till this date to the addressee. THE District Forum believed the complaint of the complainant and awarded Rs. 15/- as damages.
BEING aggrieved by the award the original complainant has filed this complaint. Mr. Thakkar the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent submits that the receipt which has been given to the complainant clearly shows that in case the envelop is lost the complainant will be entitled to only Rs. 15/-. He further argues that the decision of the District Forum is in accordance with law. The question therefore arises is whether such a condition which is printed on the back side is of to the consumer. We have decided in the earlier cases that such a condition is not to the consumer who has not signed the receipt. The Hon''ble National Commission by majority judgment has confirmed the decision of this Commission. In view of the legal settled position the arguments of Mr. A.R. Thakkar cannot be accepted. The next question requires to be decided is the damages. The complainant has claimed Rs.20,000/- by way of damages but no evidence has been produced by him when a person sent a letter by Angadiya and paid the charges. The envelop contained some important documents and matter. Because of the non-delivery of the envelop the complainant faced great difficulty. Though the actual damage has not been proved by mathematical precision in appropriate cases, the damages can be assessed by the District Forum. The complainant has stated that he had sent the documents and which has not been denied by the other side. The complainant has filed an affidavit and in the said affidavit he has stated that his father was residing in Keshod, near Air Port, and he had sent the documents one of which was a gift deed of a plot of his father. It was a very valuable original document. There is no reason as to why the affidavit should not be accepted when the same is filed before us. On account of loss of document he had to give an advertisement in newspaper of which he had to pay substantial amount. Considering all this he has demanded Rs. 20,000/-. We are of the opinion that the complainant should be awarded Rs. 1,000/- by way of damage. The appeal is allowed. ORDER The appeal is partly allowed. The judgement of the District Forum so far the damages of Rs. 15/- is concerned is set aside and instead of Rs. 15/- the opposite party will pay Rs. 1000/- by way of damages within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of this order. Appeal allowed.