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 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 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,— "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm. (i) If any portion of the amount which has become payable is in dispute or debt the Chief Executive shall make prompt payment of the portion of the amount in regard to which there is no dispute or debt the payment of the balance being settled as soon as possible. (ii) If the person to whom any amount is to be paid under this scheme is a minor or a lunatic for whose estate a guardian under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (Central Act 3 of 1890) or a manager under the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 (Central Act 4 of 1912), as the case may be, has been appointed, the payment shall be made to such guardian or manager and in any other case, the amount shall be paid to the persons authorised by law to receive the payment on behalf of the minor or the lunatic.