Chandra Reddi, J.-This matter was placed before a Bench as it was thought that there was divergence of judicial opinion on the question whether infringement of section 92 of the Village Panchayats Act (hereinafter called the Act) is a continuing offence within the proviso to section 103 of the Act. The petitioner was charged under section 92(b)read with section 115 of the Act in that he failed to get the permission of the Village Panchayat to install 30 h.p. electric motor for running a rice and flour mill. The gravamen of the charge was that the petitioner was the owner of a rice-mill in Bhamidipativari Street, Chodavaram, called Ventateswara Rice-Mill, and he had erected another rice-mill called Varalakshmi Rice-Mill in the same compound on 22nd March, 1953, without the requisite permission from the Panchayat and thereby was guilty.

The defence was that there was only one rice-mill called Venkateswara Rice-Mill, that they had applied for permission to install another rice-mill, but that was not completed and in any event the prosecution launched beyond three months of the offence was barred under section 103 of the Act. These objections were overruled and the petitioner was convic

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