Offences

Offences. (1) It shall be an offence under this Act, if— (a) any person makes a declaration referred to in section 23 which he knows or has reason to believe to be false; (b) any member of a society transfers any property in contravention of sub-section (2) of section 48 or any person knowingly acquires, or abets the acquisition of, such property; (c) any employer or any director, manager, secretary or other officer or agent acting on behalf of such employer without sufficient cause, fails to comply with sub-section (2) of section 50; (d) a committee of a society or an officer or member thereof fails to invest of such society in the manner required by section 71 ; (e) any person, collecting share money for a society in formation does not within a reasonable period deposit the same in the State Co-operative Bank, or a Central Co-operative Bank, or an Urban Co-operative bank, or a postal saving bank ; (f) any person, collecting the share money for a society in formation, makes use of the funds so raised for conducting any business or trading in the name of a society to be registered or otherwise ; (g) a retting chairman to whom a direction has been issued under sub-section (2) of section 75 fails to comply with such direction ; (g-i) a committee of a society or a member thereof fails to comply with the provisions of section 75A ; (h) a committee of a society, or an officer or member thereof, fails to comply with the provisions of sub-section (2), (3) or (4) of section 77 ; (i) any officer or member of a society who is in possession of information, books and records fails to furnish such information or produce books and papers, or give assistance to a person appointed or authorized by the State Government or the Registrar under section 80, 81, 84, 86, 87, 99 or 108 ; (j) any officer of a society fails to hand over the custody of books, records, cash security and other property belonging to the society of which he is an officer, to a person appointed under section 80,81, or 108 ; (k) a committee of society with a working capital of fifty thousand rupees or more, or any officer or a member thereof fails without any reasonable excuse to comply with orders made under section 82 or to give any notice, or to send any return or document, do or allow to be done anything, which the committee, officer or member is by this Act required to give, send, do or allow to be done ; (l) a committee of a society or an officer or member thereof willfully neglects or refuses to do any act, or to furnish any information required for the purposes of this Act by the Registrar or other person duly authorized by him in writing in this behalf ; (m) a committee of a society or an officer or member thereof, willfully makes a false return, or furnishes false information, or fails to maintain proper accounts ; (n) an officer or a society fails to comply with the order made by the Registrar under section 83 ; (o) an officer, member, agent or servant of a society fails to comply with the requirements of sub-section (4) of section 84 ; (p) an officer or a member of a society willfully fails to comply with any decision, award or order passed under section 98; (q) a member of a society fraudulently disposes of property over which the society has prior claim , or a member or officer or employee or any person disposes of his property by sale, transfer, mortgage, gift or otherwise, with the fraudulently intention of evading the dues of the society ; (r) an officer of a society willfully recommends or sanctions for his own personal use or benefit or for use or benefit of a person in whom he is interested, a loan in the name of any other person ; (s) an officer or member of a society destroys, mutilates, tampers with, or otherwise alters, falsifies or secrets or is privy to the destruction, mutilation, alternation, falsification or secreting of any books, papers or securities or makes, or is privy to the making of any false or fraudulently entry in any register, book of account or document belonging to the society. (2) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a committee of a society, every person who at the time the offence was committed, was a member of such committee, 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 as 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.