STATE Vs. P S SIVARAMA IYER KRISHNA IYER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are appeals by the State against the acquittal of the accused in C. C. Nos. 660 and 661 of 1951 on the file of the Second Class Magistrate of Kanayannore. The charge against the accused in both the cases was that he violated Sections 4 (1) (d) and 8, Travancore-Cochin Vehicles Taxation Act, 14 of 1950, by putting on the road T. C. C. 1634 (C. C. No. 660 of 1951) and T. C. No. 1635 (C. C. No. 661 of 1951) on 23. 7. 51.

(2.) THE user of the vehicles on the date in question was not disputed and the only defence in the two cases, as summarised by the lower Court, was:

(3.) WE are not prepared1 to accept the contention and are clearly of the opinion that the lower Court was wrong in doing so. Nor are we prepared to accept the contention of the State that if the tax was in arrears in respect of any one of his sixteen route buses-it was admitted that he had not paid the tax in respect of some of them-the accused was precluded from using a reserve bus and that he would necessarily incur a penalty by such a user.