Akbar vs Slema Lebbe – clr volume 2 page 127_1

In Akbar v. Slema Lebbe, the court addressed whether the offence of erecting and maintaining an obstruction on a street under section 175 of the Municipal Councils Ordinance, 1887, should be regarded as a continuing offence, thereby exempting it from the three-month prosecution limitation prescribed by section 283. It was held that the offence was indeed continuing in nature, and the limitation period did not commence upon completion of the erection. The decision reaffirmed the principle that for offences characterized as continuing, the limitation period for prosecution is calculated from the date the offence ceases, not from the date it was first committed. Reliance was placed on relevant precedent, including The Metropolitan Board of Works vs. Ahthony & Co., which clarified the statutor