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26. Offences by companies
(1) Where an offence under this Act or any rule made thereunder 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 such person liable to any punishment 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 or any rule made thereunder 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, society, trade union or other association of individuals; and (b) "director", in relation to a firm, society, trade union or other association of individuals, means a partner in the firm or a member of the governing body of such society, trade union or other association of individuals. 27. Bar to the prosecution of offences under the Act
No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or any officer authorised by that Government in this behalf. 28. Investigation into cases under the Act
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), any offence punishable under this Act may also be investigated into by such authority as the Central Government may specify in this behalf and the authority so specified shall have all the powers which an officer-in-charge of a police station has while making an investigation into a cognizable offence. 29. Protection of action taken in good faith
No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Central Government in respect of any loss or damage caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder. ....continued | 
