Chapter XIV OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

(1) A multi-State co-operative society or an officer or member thereof wilfully making a false return or furnishing false information, or failing to file any return or information or any person wilfully or without any reasonable excuse disobeying any summons, requisition or lawful written order issued under the provisions of this Act, or wilfully not furnishing any information required from him by a person authorised in this behalf under the provisions of this Act, shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than Rs. 5,000 and which may extend to Rs. 1,00,000. (2) Any employer who, without sufficient cause, fails to pay to a multi-State co-operative society the amount deducted by him under section 60 within a period of fourteen days from the date on which such deduction is made shall, without prejudice to any action that may be taken against him under any other law for the time being in force, be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs. 10,000. (3) Any officer or custodian who wilfully fails to hand over custody of books, accounts, documents, records, cash, security and other property belonging to a multi-State co-operative society of which he is an officer or custodian, to a person entitled under section 54, or section 70, or section 78, or section 79, or section 89 or to a person required to file return under section 120 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs. 5,000 and in the case of a continuing breach, with a further fine which (4) Whoever, before, during or after the election of delegates under the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 38 or election of members of the board,— (a) fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper; or (b) fraudulently defaces, destroys or removes any list, notice or other document affixed by or under the authority of a returning officer; or (c) fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper or any declaration of identity; or (d) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person or receives any ballot paper from any person or is in possession of any ballot paper; or (e) fraudulently puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in; or (f) without due authority destroys, takes, opens or otherwise interferes, with any ballot box or ballot papers then in use for the purposes of the election; or (g) fraudulently or without due authority, as the case may be, attempts to do any of the foregoing acts or wilfully aids or abets the doing of any such acts; (h) offers any gift or promises to offer any gratification to any person or receives such gift, promise or gratification with the object, directly or indirectly, of including— (i) a person to stand or not to stand as, or to withdraw or not to withdraw from, being a candidate at an election; or (ii) a member to vote or refrain from voting at an election, or as a reward to a person for having so stood or not stood or for having withdrawn or not having withdrawn his candidature; or (iii) a member for having voted or refrained from voting, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine or with both and shall also be debarred from contesting elections for a period of three years. (5) Where a multi-State co-operative society,— (a) which is required to provide an explanation or make a statement during the course of inspection, inquiry or investigation, destroys, mutilates or falsifies, or conceals or tampers or unauthorisedly removes, or causes the destruction, mutilation or falsification or concealment or tampering or unauthorised removal of, any document relating to the property, assets or affairs of the society or makes or causes to make a false entry in any document concerning the society; (b) makes any investment in contravention of the provision of section 64 or the bye-laws made under this Act; (c) causes unlawful loss to the assets and property of the society; or (d) causes unlawful loss to the depositor, the board of directors or the responsible officers of the multi-State co-operative society shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees or with both. (6) Where the board of directors or officers of the multi-State co-operative society receive any unlawful gains while transacting matters related to such society or utilise any assets of the society for personal unlawful gains, such directors or officers concerned shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but may extend to one lakh rupees or with both and the proceeds of such unlawful gains shall be recovered from them and deposited in such manner as may be prescribed.

(1) No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Act. (2) No prosecution for offences under section 104 shall be instituted except on a complaint filed in writing by a member of a multi-State co-operative society or by the Central Registrar in the competent court.

The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.