P PANKAJAKASHAN Vs. DEPUTY TAHSILDAR (RR)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a contract carriage operator, sold his bus to the 4th respondent on 13.05.2014. He pleads that he handed over the vehicle to the 4th respondent. The 4th respondent, according to the petitioner, has not paid the vehicle tax dues; instead, he took away the vehicle to an unknown destination. Under those circumstances, the petitioner got a crime registered against the 4th respondent in Crime No. 1251 of 2015 of Ottapalam Police Station.

(2.) In the meanwhile, the respondent authority served on the petitioner a notice, dated 19.01.2018, demanding Rs.6, 22, 912/- as tax arrears for the vehicle he had sold. Aggrieved, the petitioner filed W.P.(C) No.3520 of 2018, which this Court disposed of on 01.02018. The Court directed the 3rd respondent to consider the petitioner's Ext.P7 objection. Eventually, the authority considered that objection and passed orders.

(3.) The petitioner contends that the 3rd respondent's order, i.e., Ext.P11, had never been served on him. Later, he went to the 3rd respondent's office and collected it only on 11.06.2018. Since the order seems to have been passed on 22.02018, the petitioner could not take recourse to statutory appeal, because it should have been filed within 30 days from the date of the order. So he has filed this writ petition.