(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 having committed 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 for 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 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 having committed such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation - For the purpose of this section,-
(i) "company" means a body corporate and includes a limited liability partnership, firm, registered society or co-operative society, trust or other association of individuals; and
(ii) "director" in relation to a limited liability partnership or firm, means a partner in the firm.
55. Whoever abets an offence punishable under this Act, whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, shall be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.