(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 the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
z 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 has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the commission of the offence 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.- For the purposes of this section,-
(a) "company" 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.
Section 131 Offences by companies
Section 132 Disposal of fees, rewards, etc
Section 133 Method of proving orders and notifications
Section 135 Presumption in prosecutions for contravention of order made under section 46, 47 or 48
Section 136 Officers holding charges of, or succeeding to, vacancies competent to exercise powers
Section 137 Forfeiture of bond entered into by person under sub-section (1) of section 54
Section 139 No public servant liable as aforesaid for giving effect in good faith to any rule