Failure by the State Government departments or agencies

(1) Where violation under this Act is committed by any department or agency of the State Government, the head of the department or agency shall 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 or agency liable to any punishment, if the person proves that the offence was committed without the person’s knowledge or that the person exercised all due diligence to prevent such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a department or agency of the State 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 or agency, such officer shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.