(1) Where the offence committed under this Act is a company, any person, who at the time of commission of the offence was in charge of, and was responsible to the company for the conduct of its business, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence together with the company 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, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge, or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the connivance or neglect on the part of any Director or Manager or Secretary or any other officer of the company, such Director or Manager or Secretary or any other officer of the Company also shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and published accordingly.
Explanation:—For the purpose of this sub-section:—
(a) ‘Company’ means a body corporate and includes a firm or other association of persons or an organisation or Co-operative Society.
(b) ‘Director’ in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
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