JUDGMENT

CHANDRACHUD, CJI.:— On December 5, 1967, the Baranagore Municipality served a notice on the respondent alleging that he had erected an obstruction over the main municipal drain without the permission of the Administrator of the Municipality and calling upon him to remove the same within fifteen days of the date of receipt of the notice. A similar notice was sent to the respondent by registered post which the received on December 7. On the respondents failure to comply with the requisition the Municipality, through the appellant who is its Law Assistant, filed a complaint against him under S. 240 (1) (b) read with S. 500 (1) (b) of the Bengal Municipal Act, XV of 1932 (The Act). The respondent took a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the complaint on the ground that since the prosecution was not instituted within six months next after the commission of the offence, it was barred by limitation under S. 533 of the Act. That objection having been rejected by the trial court, the respondent filed a revisional application in the Calcutta High Court. It will not be quite accurate to say that the respondents objection, in the form in which it was taken by him, was up