29. Obstructions.--(1) Whoever obstructs an inspector in the discharge of his duties under this Act or
refuses or wilfully neglects to affords the inspector any reasonable facility for making any inspection,
examination or inquiry authorised by or under this Act in relation to any motor transport undertaking shall
be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may
extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
(2) Whoever wilfully refuses to produce on the demand of a inspector any register or other document
kept in pursuance of this Act, or prevents or attempts to prevent or does anything which he has reason to
believe is likely to prevent any person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector acting in
pursuance of his duties under this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend
to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
30. Use of false certificate of fitness.--Whoever knowingly uses or attempts to use as a certificate of
fitness granted to himself under section 23 a certificate granted to another person under that section, or
having been granted a certificate of fitness to himself, knowingly allows it to be used, or an attempt to use
it to be made, by another person, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one month,
or with fine which may extend to fifty rupees, or with both.
31. Contravention of provisions regarding employment of motor transport workers.--Whoever,
except as otherwise permitted by or under this Act, contravenes any provision of this Act or of any rules
made there under, prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of persons in a motor transport
undertaking, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with
fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both, and in the case of a continuing contravention
with an additional fine which may extend to seventy-five rupees for every day during which such
contravention continues after conviction for the first such contravention.
32. Other offences.--Whoever willfully disobeys any direction lawfully given by any person or
authority empowered under this Act to give such direction or contravenes any of the provisions of this Act
or of any rules made there under for which no other penalty is elsewhere provided by or under this Act
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which
may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
33. Enhanced penalty after previous conviction.--If any person who has been convicted of any
offence punishable under this Act is again guilty of an offence involving a contravention of the same
provision, he shall be punishable on a subsequent conviction with imprisonment which may extend to six
months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both:
Provided that for the purposes of this section no cognizance shall be taken of any conviction made
more than two years before the commission of the offence which is being punished.
34. Offences by companies.--(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a company,
the company as well as every person in charge of, and responsible to, the company for the conduct of its
business at the time of the commission of the offence 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 he 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 that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on the part of any
director, manager, managing agent or any other officer of the company, such director, manager, managing
agent or such 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
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(b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
35. Cognizance of offences.--No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act
unless the complaint made by, or with previous sanction in writing of, the inspector and no court inferior to
that of a Presidency magistrate or a magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this
Act.
36. Limitation of prosecutions.--No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this
Act unless the complaint thereof is made within three months from the date on which the alleged
commission of the offence came to the knowledge of an inspector;
Provided that where the offence consists of disobeying a written order made by an inspector, complaint
thereof may be made within six months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.