(1) Where an offence under
this Act has been committed by a company, every person who, at
the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was
responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the
company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of
the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall
render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this
Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his
knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the
commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),
where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company
and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the
consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the
part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the
company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall
also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be
proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation. – For the purpose of this section,-
(a) company means a body corporate, and includes
a firm or other association of individuals, and
(b) director, in relation to a firm, means a partner
in the firm.
advertisement