Under which one of the following Sections of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 has 'offences by companies' been provided?
- (a)Section 10
- (b)Section 12
- (c)Section 14
- (d)Section 16
Correct — C, Section 14. 'Offences by companies' is provided in Section 14 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. It makes the persons in charge of, and responsible to, a company for the conduct of its business liable when an untouchability offence under the Act is committed by the company — the standard corporate-liability provision.
- (a)Section 10 — Section 10 is 'Abetment of offence', punishing those who abet an untouchability offence — not corporate liability.
- (b)Section 12 — Section 12 is 'Presumption by courts' — where a person is shown to practise untouchability against another of the same religion, the court presumes it was on the ground of untouchability. Not offences by companies.
- (d)Section 16 — Section 16 gives the Act overriding effect over inconsistent provisions of other laws; it does not deal with offences by companies.
'Offences by companies' clauses fix criminal liability on the natural persons running a company — typically the person who was in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time — when the company commits an offence. In the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 this provision is Section 14, sitting just before the good-faith protection clause (Section 14A).
This completes the PCR Act section-mapping trio (Q87 collective fine = 10A, Q88 good faith = 14A, Q89 companies = 14). The examiner reuses the same clustered numbers as distractors, so a candidate who has learnt the block cold answers all three quickly. Section 12 (presumption) and Section 16 (overriding effect) are the classic 'sound plausible' traps here.
- Section 14 = Offences by companies
- Section 14A = Protection of action taken in good faith (immediately after)
- Section 12 = Presumption by courts in certain cases
- Section 16 = Act to override inconsistent provisions of other laws
- Corporate-liability clauses target the person in charge of the company's business
Offences by companies is Section 14 — just before the good-faith clause, Section 14A.
- Choosing Section 12 (presumption) instead of Section 14 (companies)
- Confusing Section 14 (companies) with Section 14A (good-faith protection)
MPPSC asks 'which section provides for offences by companies'. Fix the pair 14 / 14A — companies, then good-faith protection — to avoid the near-identical trap.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, when a company commits an offence, an 'offences by companies' clause makes liable:
- (a)only the company as a legal entity
- (b)the person in charge of and responsible to the company for its business
- (c)the registrar of companies
- (d)the auditors of the company
Answer(b) The person who was in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Section 12 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, a court may presume that an act was done on the ground of untouchability when it is committed against a person:
- (a)of a different religion
- (b)professing the same religion as the offender
- (c)who is a foreign national
- (d)below 18 years of age
Answer(b) A person professing the same religion as the accused — the presumption clause under Section 12.