s 253 Reliance on public official statement in respect of false and misleading statement
(1) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 246 and is not liable under section 248 if the person proves that the false or misleading statement or material omission from a statement in a prospectus (hereinafter referred as the “defective statement”) is or is based on a statement made by a public officer in the course of his duties or is contained in a copy of or what purports to be a copy of, or an extract from, a public official document, and it is proved by the person that— (a) the defective statement accurately represented the statement made by the public officer including the context and form in which it was originally made; or (b) the defective statement is contained in a copy of or what purports to be a copy of, or extract from, a public official document, and the person had reasonable grounds to believe, and did believe until the time of the allotment of, issue of, offer for subscription or purchase of, or invitation to subscribe for or purchase, the securities, that the defective statement was true and not misleading and that there was no material omission from the defective statement, as the case may be. (2) A person is not liable under section 249 in respect of an act that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive if the person proves that the act consists of a representation made in reliance on a public official document or statement made by a public officer in the course of his duties and it is proved that— (a) the representation accurately reflects the statement made by the public officer including the context and form in which it was originally made; or (b) the representation is contained in a copy of, or an extract from, a public official document, and the person had reasonable grounds to believe, and did believe until the time of the allotment of, issue of, offer for subscription or purchase of, or invitation to subscribe for or purchase, the securities, that the representation was not misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive.