(1) Where an offence under this Act or the rules made thereunder has been committed by a business entity, every person who at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the business entity for the conduct of the business of the business entity as well as the business entity 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 or rules made thereunder has been committed by a business entity 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 business entity, 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) "business entity" 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.
(3) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a Hindu Undivided Family, the Karta thereof shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and on conviction, punished accordingly :
Provided that, nothing contained in this sub-section shall render the Karta 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 :
Provided further that, where an offence under this Act has been committed by a Hindu Undivided Family 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 adult member of the Hindu Undivided Family, such member shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and on conviction punished accordingly.