Section 21 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 in hindi
- (1)Where any offence punishable 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 be had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
- (2)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence punishable 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,--
- (a)"company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
- (b)"director" in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Summary
- If a company commits an offence under this Act, both the company itself and the person who was in charge of its business at the time are considered guilty.
- A person in charge can avoid punishment if they can prove the offence happened without their knowledge or that they tried their absolute best to prevent it.
- If it is proven that a director, manager, or secretary consented to the offence, ignored it, or was neglectful, they are also considered guilty and will be punished.
- In this context, a company includes a firm or an association of individuals, and a director includes a partner in a firm.
Practical examples
FAQ
1. Can a company itself be punished for breaking this law?
Yes, the company itself can be deemed guilty and proceeded against, along with the people running it.
2. What if the person in charge did not know the company was committing a crime?
If they can prove the offence was committed without their knowledge or that they exercised all due diligence to prevent it, they will not be punished.
3. Does this rule only apply to large corporate companies?
No, the legal definition of a company in this section includes a firm or any other association of individuals, and a director includes a partner in a firm.
Test yourself
Q1.Under Section 21 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, how can a person in charge of a company avoid punishment when the company commits an offence?
Q2.Under Section 21 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, if an offence is committed by a company with the explicit consent of a company secretary, who is deemed guilty?
Q3.Under Section 21 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, how is the term company defined for the purposes of this section?
Q4.Under Section 21 of The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, what does the term director mean when applied to a firm?