(1) Whoever, fails to comply with or acts in contravention of, any provision of this Act shall be deemed to commit an offence under this Act, and shall on conviction be punished,-
(a) in the case of a contravention of the provisions of section 3 or 22, with simple imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;
(b) in any other case with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
(2) If the person committing an offence under this Act is 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 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.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), where an offence under this Act is committed by a company and it is proved that the offence is committed with the consent or connivance 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 1.- For the purposes of sub-sections (2) and (3)-
(a) "company" means anybody corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals and
(b) "director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
Explanation 2.- The provisions of sub-section (2), in so far as they apply to persons who at the time of the offence were in charge of or were responsible to the company for the conduct of the business thereof, shall not apply to any such person in charge of or responsible to a corporation established under the Agricultural Produce (Development and Warehousing) Corporations Act, 1956 (28 of 1956).