lf any person who has been convicted of any offence punishable under this Act is again found guilty of an offence involving a contraventiorv of the same provision, he shall be punishable on a subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both,
31. Offences by Companies - (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 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 subi (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 purposes of this section:- company means any body corporate and includes a firm, or other association of individual: and "Directof in relation to a firm, meansa partner in the firm.
32. Cognizance of offences - No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act, except on complaint made by or with the previous sanction in writing of, the Government or an officer authorized by the Government in that behalf, and no court inferior to that of a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.
33. Limitation of prosecutions - No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act unless complaint thereof is made within three months from the dale on which the alleged commigsion of the offence comes to the knowledge of the Government or the officer authorized under S.32.
CHAPTER Xi MISCELLANEOUS
34. Bar of jurisdiction of Civil Courts - No civil court shall entertain any suitor other proceedings to set aside or modify any order or decision passed by any authority or officer under this Act in respect of any of the matters falling within its or his scope,
35. Power to take evidence on oath, etc: Any authority or officer exercising powers under this Act shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (Central Act Sof 1906), when trying a suit in respect of the following matters namely:
enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath:
requiring the discovery and production of documents;
receiving evidence on affidavit;
issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses;
such other matters as may be prescribed;
and any proceedingbefore such authority or officer shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of SsA93 and 228 and for the purposes of Si 96 of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act 46 of 1860)