(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, or 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 under this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had 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 purpose 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.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 69
Section 69 codifies corporate criminal liability and vicarious liability of company directors, managing directors, managers, and officers in charge for offences committed by companies under RERA.
When filing criminal prosecution petitions under Section 64/69, always implead the corporate developer entity alongside named Managing Directors and Whole-Time Directors, setting out specific averments of their active operational control.