Section 21. Offence by companies

(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a company the company as well as every person incharge of, and responsible to, the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence, shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if this offence was committed by himself : 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 the exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any 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 that the commission of the offence 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 liable to be proceeded against and punished for the offence. Explanation-- For the purposes of this section -- (a) 'Company' means any body corporate and includes a firm or association of individuals, and (b) 'Director' in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.