Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
17. Offences by Government Departments
(1) Where an offence under this Act has been
committed by the Department of Government, the Head of the Department shall be
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and punished accordingly :
Provided that nothing contained in this section
shall render such Head of the Department liable to any punishment 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
Department of Government 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 officer, other than the Head of the Department, such officer shall
also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.