{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/post-office-act-1953-repealed/section-55",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/post-office-act-1953-repealed/section-55.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Eliz2/1-2/36",
  "legislation_title": "Post Office Act 1953 (repealed)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/post-office-act-1953-repealed",
  "path": "section/55",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "55",
  "heading": "Fraudulent retention of mail bag or postal packet.",
  "text": "Any person who fraudulently retains, or wilfully secretes or keeps, or detains, or who, when required by a person engaged in the business of the Post Office, neglects or refuses to deliver up—\n(a) any postal packet which is in course of transmission by post and which ought to have been delivered to any other person; or\n(b) any postal packet in course of transmission by post or any mail bag which has been found by him or by any other person,\nshall be guilty of a misdemeanour and be liable to a fine and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words substituted by virtue of Post Office Act 1969 (c. 48), Sch. 4 para. 2(1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words inserted by Theft Act 1968 (c. 60), Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 6"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 53 amended as to mode of trial by S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26), arts. 45(1), 46(3) (as substituted by S.I. 1986/1883 (N.I. 15), art. 3(2), Sch. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 55 amended by S.I. 1981/1675, (N.I. 26), Sch. 2 para. 8"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C3",
      "text": "S. 53 amended as to mode of trial (E.W.) by Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43, SIF 82), s. 17, Sch. 1 para. 22"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/1-2/36/section/55",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:16:39.685380+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}