13.Offences by companies.-
(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:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any
such person liable to 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 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 that
offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation .--- For the purposes of this
section,----
(a) "company" means any 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.