law: Indian Post Office Act, 1898 
  24. Power to deal with postal articles containing goods
  
  contraband or liable to duty
   19  [Except as otherwise
  
  provided in this Act, where a postal article suspected to contain any goods of
  
  which the import by post or the transmission by post is prohibited by or under
  
  any enactment for the time being in force,] or anything liable to duty, is
  
  received for delivery at a post office, the officer in charge of the post
  
  office shall send a notice in writing to the addressee inviting him to attend,
  
  either in person or by agent, within a specified time at the post office, and
  
  shall in the presence of the addressee or his agent, or if the addressee or his
  
  agent fails to attend as aforesaid then in his absence, open and examine the
  
  postal article:
  Provided, first, that,
  
  if the Director General so directs in the case of any post office or class of
  
  post offices, the officer in charge of the post office shall call in two
  
  respectable persons as witnesses before he opens a postal article in the
  
  absence of the addressee or his agent:
  Provided , secondly, that in
  
  all cases a postal article, after being opened under this section, shall be
  
  delivered to the addressee, unless it is required for the purpose of any
  
  further proceeding under this or any other law or enactment for the time being
  
  in force, and that the opening of the postal article and the circumstances
  
  connected therewith shall be immediately reported to the Post Master General.
   20  [***]