(1) It shall be an offence under this Act, if-
(i) a committee of management of a co-operative society or a member or an officer thereof fails without reasonable cause to submit any return, report or information required under the provisions of this Act by the Registrar or by a person of a rank not below that specified the State Government duly authorized by the Registrar in this behalf, or willfully makes a false return or furnishes false information or fails to maintain proper accounts ; or
(ii) an officer, employee or a member of a co-operative society fraudulently destroys, mutilates, alters, falsifies or abets the destruction, mutilation alteration, or falsification of any books, papers, or securities, or makes or abets the making of any false entry in any register, book of account or document belonging to the society or
(iii) the committee of management of a co-operative society, or an officer in possession of the books, records or property of the society refuses or fails without reasonable cause to hand over the custody of such books, records and property belonging the society to a person lawfully entitled to receive the same under this Act, the rules or the byelaws ; or
(iv) the committee of management of a co-operative society or an officer fails, without reasonable cause, to establish a Contributory Provident Fund for its employees as required by section 63 ; or
(v) any officer of a co-operative society fails to maintain such accounts and registers as may be prescribed ; or
(vi) an officer or a member of co-operative society who is in possession of information, books and records, fails without reasonable cause to furnish such information or produce books and papers or give assistance to the person appointed by the State Government under subsection (1) of section 64, or any person authorized by him to conduct audit, or to the Registrar or a person authorized or appointed by the Registrar under sections 64, 65, 66, 73 or 123 ; or
(vii) an employer, without sufficient cause, fails to pay to a cooperative society the amount deducted by him under sub-section (2) of section 40 within a period of 14 days from the date on which such deduction is made ; or
(viii) an officer or member of a co-operative society or any person does any act or omission declared by the rules to be an offence.
(2) (a) Whoever commits an-offence under clause (i), (iv), (v), [X X X] (vii) or (viii) of sub-section (1) shall on conviction be liable to be punished with fine which may extend to [two thousand] rupees.
[provided that, any person who does an act in relation to elections which has been made an offence under the rules, shall be punishable with imprisonment for such term not exceeding two years, or with fine not exceeding rupees five thousand as may be provided in the rules, or with both.]
[(b) Whoever commits an offence under clause (ii), clause (iii), or clause (vi) of sub-section (1) shall on conviction be liable to be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to three thousand rupees ;
(c) Every offence referred to in clause (b) shall be cognizable and boilable.]