(1) Where an offence under this Ordinance has been committed bv 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, a<! well as the company, shall be deemed to be euilty 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 Tierson liable to anv 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.
W Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where nnv offence under th^s Ordinance has been committed by a company and H i<* proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to anv neglect on the part of. anv director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of fliat SEC. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTBAOBDINARY 13 offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,—
(a) "company11 means any body corporate arid includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
(fa) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.