Offences by companies
Section 21 of the Seeds Act, 1966 deals with offences by companies. 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, 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 The Act came into force on 02 Sep 1968.
(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, 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 under this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge and 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 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.
Section 21, The Seeds Act, 1966 (Act 54 of 1966).
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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National Seeds Corporation Ltd. v. M. Madhusudhan Reddy
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Seeds Act s.19 creates penalties for contravention of the Act/rules; NSC argued consumer complaints were barred because the Seeds Act is a complete code with s.19/21 offences. SC held the Seeds Act does not oust Consumer Protection Act remedies for defective seeds—penal provisions do not extinguish civil/consumer redress—and upheld maintainability of farmer complaints (New Delhi, January 16, 2012 header-date-matched to index).
On this section: s.21 — Offences by companies under Seeds Act; parallel to, not exclusive of, consumer remedies
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 21
What have the courts held on Section 21 of the Seeds Act?
National Seeds Corporation Ltd. v. M. Madhusudhan Reddy (16 Jan 2012) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.21 — Offences by companies under Seeds Act; parallel to, not exclusive of, consumer remedies.
How do I find court cases under Section 21 of the Seeds Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Seeds Act 1966 21, section 21 Seeds Act 1966, section 21 of the Seeds Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with National Seeds Corporation Ltd. v. M. Madhusudhan Reddy (16 Jan 2012).
When did Section 21 of the Seeds Act come into force?
Section 21 of the Seeds Act, cited as Seeds Act 1966 21, came into force on 02 Sep 1968, having been enacted on 29 Dec 1966. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 14. Powers of Seed Inspector490 words
- 25. Power to make rules470 words
- 15. Procedure to be followed by Seed Inspectors468 words
- 2. Definitions317 words
- 3. Central Seed Committee298 words
- 16. Report of Seed Analyst264 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 17 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.