17. Offences by government departments.- (1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by any department of government, the head of the department 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 section shall render such head of the department 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 department of government 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 officer, other than the head of the department, such officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. | 
