62. CIVIL LIABILITY FOR MIS-STATEMENTS IN PROSPECTUS
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where a prospectus invites persons to subscribe for shares in or debentures of a company, the following persons shall be liable to pay compensation to every person who subscribes for any shares or debentures on the faith of the prospectus for any loss or damage he may have sustained by reason of any untrue statement included therein, that is to say,
(a) every person who is a director of the company at the time of the issue of the prospectus ;
(b) every person who has authorised himself to be named and is named in the prospectus either as a director, or as having agreed to become a director, either immediately or after an interval of time ;
(c) every person who is a promoter of the company ; and
(d) every person who has authorised the issue of the prospectus :
Provided that where, under section 58, the consent of a person is required to the issue of a prospectus and he has given that consent, or where, under sub-section (3) of section 60, the consent of a person named in a prospectus is required and he has given that consent, he shall not, by reason of having given such consent, be liable under this subsection as a person who has authorised the issue of the prospectus except in respect of an untrue statement, if any, purporting to be made by him as an expert.
(2) No person shall be liable under sub-section (1), if he proves –
(a) that, having consented to become a director of the company, he withdrew his consent before the issue of the prospectus, and that it was issued without his authority or consent ;
(b) that the prospectus was issued without his knowledge or consent, and that on becoming aware of its issue, he forthwith gave reasonable public notice that it was issued without his knowledge or consent ;
(c) that, after the issue of the prospectus and before allotment there under, he, on becoming aware of any untrue statement therein, withdrew his consent to the prospectus and gave reasonable public notice of the withdrawal and of the reason therefor ; or
(d) that –
(i) as regards every untrue statement not purporting to be made on the authority of an expert or of a public official document or statement, he had reasonable ground to believe, and did up to the time of the allotment of the shares or debentures, as the case may be, believe, that the statement was true ; and
(ii) as regards every untrue statement purporting to be a statement by an expert or contained in what purports to be a copy of or an extract from a report or valuation of an expert, it was a correct and fair representation of the statement, or a correct copy of, or a correct and fair extract from, the report or valuation ; and he had reasonable ground to believe and did up to the time of the issue of the prospectus believe, that the person making the statement was competent to make it and that that person had given the consent required by section 58 to the issue of the prospectus and had not withdrawn that consent before delivery of a copy of the prospectus for registration or, to the defendant’s knowledge, before allotment thereunder ; and
(iii) as regards every untrue statement purporting to be a statement made by an official person or contained in what purports to be a copy of or extract from a public official document, it was a correct and fair representation of the statement, or a correct copy of or a correct and fair extract from, the document :
Provided that this sub-section shall not apply in the case of a person liable, by reason of his having given a consent required of him by section 58, as a person who has authorised the issue of the prospectus in respect of an untrue statement, purporting to be made by him as an expert. (3) A person who, apart from this sub-section, would, under sub-section (1), be liable by reason of his having given a consent required of him by section 58 as a person who has authorised the issue of a prospectus in respect of an untrue statement purporting to be made by him as an expert, shall not be so liable, if he proves
(a) that, having given his consent under section 58 to the issue of the prospectus, he withdrew it in writing before delivery of a copy of the prospectus for registration ;
(b) that, after delivery of a copy of the prospectus for registration and before allotment thereunder, he, on becoming aware of the untrue statement, withdrew his consent in writing and gave reasonable public notice of the withdrawal and of the reason therefor ; or
(c) that he was competent to make the statement and that he has reasonable ground to believe, and did up to the time of the allotment of the shares or debentures, believe, that the statement was true.
(4) Where –
(a) the prospectus specifies the name of a person as a director of the company, or as having agreed to become a director thereof, and he has not consented to become a director, or has withdrawn his consent before the issue of the prospectus and has not authorised or consented to the issue thereof ; or
(b) the consent of a person is required under section 58 to the issue of the prospectus and he either has not given that consent or has withdrawn it before the issue of the prospectus ; the directors of the company excluding those without whose knowledge or consent the prospectus was issued, and every other person who authorised the issue thereof, shall be liable to indemnify the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, against all damages, costs and expenses to which he may be made liable by reason of his name having been inserted in the prospectus or of the inclusion therein of a statement purporting to be made by him as an expert, as the case may be, or in defending himself against any suit or legal proceeding brought against him in respect thereof :
Provided that a person shall not be deemed for the purposes of this sub-section to have authorised the issue of a prospectus by reason only of his having given the consent required by section 58 to the inclusion therein of a statement purporting to be made by him as an expert.
(5) Every person who, becomes liable to make any payment by virtue of this section, may recover contribution, as in cases of contract, from any other person who, if sued separately, would have been liable to make the same payment, unless the former person was, and the latter person was not, guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation.
(6) For the purposes of this section –
(a) the expression “promoter” means a promoter who was a party to the preparation of the prospectus or of the portion thereof containing the untrue statement, but does not include any person by reason of his acting in a professional capacity for persons engaged in procuring the formation of the company ; and
(b) the expression “expert” has the same meaning as in section 58.
