Punishment for furnishing false return or information, failure to furnish information or failure to comply with directions/ orders.

(1) it shall be an offence under the Act, if— (a) The Committee or an officer or member or an employee of the society thereof wilfully makes a false return or fails to files returns within the specified time or furnishes false information, or any person wilfully not furnishes any information lawfully required from him by a person authorised in this behalf under the provisions of the Act; (b) any person wilfully or without any reasonable excuse disobeys any summons, requisition or lawful written order issued under the provisions of this Act; (c) any person wilfully withholds or fails to furnish any information lawfully required from him by a person authroised in this behalf under the provisions of this Act; (d) any person acts in contravention of section 35, section 36, sub-section (2) of section 48 or sub-section (3) of section 83B; (e) any officer or custodian who willfully fails to handover custody of books, accounts, documents, records, cash, security and other property belonging to a co-operative society of which he is an officer or custodian, to an authorized person; and (f) an officer, or an employee of the society including the paid Secretary dishonestly or fraudulently misappropriates or otherwise converts for his own use or intentionally causes loss to the property of the society entrusted to him or under his control as such officer or employee or allows any other person so to do; (g) an officer, or an employee of the society is or proved to have been in possession of any property of the society reasonably suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained; or (h) any officer or employee abets any offence punishable under this Act whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment; (i) any employer who, without sufficient cause, fails to pay to a co-operative society the amount deducted by him from its employee within a period of fourteen days from the date on which such deduction is made; (j) whoever, before, during or after the election of members of the board or office bearers, adopts any corrupt practice; (k) when a cooperative society or elected Board fails to produce necessary records and necessary information for conduct of audit and get the approval of the audit accounts by the General body of the Society within six months: Provided that, the responsibility for the offence committed under sub-section 79 (1) (k) lies with the Chief Executive officer of the society called by any designation and the managing committee or Board present at the time of audit and those belonging to the period for which the audit is being conducted: Provided further that, the responsibility for the offence committed by the co-operative society under this section lies with the Chief Executive Officer of the society called by any designation. (2) An offence under Clauses (a) to (c) of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to Rs. 20,000. (3) An offence in sub-section (1), under- (i) clauses (e) and (f), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years; (ii) clause (g), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years; and (iii) clauses (h) and (k) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years; (iv) clause (j) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years.