Where an offence under th;s Act has been committed by a company, every person who, at t.he time the offen<'e wnE> 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 de€med to be guilty of the offer.ce and shall be liable to be proceeded against ~md pumshed accordmgly:
Provided that nothing contained in this ~~ub-section shall render any such rJerson liable to any .punishment if he proves 1 hat 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 m sub-section (1)_.
where an offence undE'r this Act 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 purposes of this section,-
(a) "company" means any body corporate and includ~s a firm or other association of individuals; and
(b) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the llnn.
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17. Cognisanc; of offences -No court shall take c?gnis~J?-Ce of '"''Y offence punishable under this Act except on a report m v.Titmg_ of l.be facts constituting such offence made with the prevwu;; sanctiOn or the Govenunent or such other authority as may be specified in this behalf by the Government, by the Chief Executive Officer or any Inspector appointed under this Act. ., ' 18. Power to order tnquiry -{1) The.Government may, at any time, appoint any person to inquire into the \vor:dng of the Board and to F.ubmit a report to the Government.
(~) The Board shall give the person so appointed dl facilities for the proper conduct of the inquiry and furmsh to him such tocmments, accoilllts or information in the possess10n of the Board as he may require.